The Black Sash, Vol. 28, No. 1

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Page 1 of 38 Alternative title The Black SashThe Black Sash Author/Creator The Black Sash (Johannesburg) Contributor Webster, G. Publisher The Black Sash (Johannesburg) Date 1985-05 Resource type Journals (Periodicals) Language English Subject Coverage (spatial) South Africa Coverage (temporal) 1985 Source Digital Imaging South Africa (DISA) Relation The Black Sash (1956-1969); continued by Sash (1969-1994) Rights By kind permission of Black Sash. Format extent 36 page(s) (length/size)

Page 2 of 38 Sash Vol.28 No.1 May 1985 R2.60Violence is inevitable when the State uses its whole repressivemachinery to prevent grievances from being expressed...to insist thatcontrol by the few over the many continuesSheena Duncan, presidential address, March 1985

Page 3 of 38 PRESS STATEMENTSThe Black Sash resolvesMINIMUM WAGEBlack Sash condemns Zac De Beer's call for the scrap-ping of the minimum wage.This move has been welcomed by the business sector asa solution to skyrocketing inflation, and as a move to-wards the creation of a free economy.As an organisation committed to justice we believe allpeople have the right to work and to earn a living wage.It is interesting to note that the call for the scrapping ofthe minimum wage has come at the same time as businessis calling for the relaxation of influx control for urbanblacks.The Black Sash has always called for the removal of in-flux control, but believes that to scrap the minimum wageat the same time, without providing housing, welfare,education and jobs, will serve to further intensify compe-tition amongst workers for jobs and welfare services. Itwill also increase the extent of a reserve army of low wageearners.To scrap the minimum wage at a time of such high un-employment can only lead to a decline in overall livingstandards. The constantly increasing cost of living willexacerbate this.Most importantly it is a move to undermine andweaken the trade union movement.COURT INTERPRETATIONerious criticism was expressed at the Black Sash na-tional conference of the quality of interpretationcurrently provided in the courts. Many injustices occur,especially in the criminal courts, where the vast majorityof black accused are undefended and have little or noknowledge of law or procedure.Conference therefore recommends that the presentstandard of interpretation be drastically improved, thatinterpreters receive more thorough training than at pre-sent, and that ways be sought to introduce a systemwhereby, in due course, the need for interpretation beabolished and that the proceedings be conducted as far aspossible in the language of the accused.FREE LEGAL AIDThe Hoexter Commission recommended that legal aidshould be available to all accused in all courts.The Black Sash Conference, believing that justice is theright of all, recommends that the powers of the legal aidboard be extended in order to implement one of the re-commendations of the Hoexter Commission, and thatfurther avenues be investigated with a view to providinglegal assistance for everyone who needs it in both criminaland civil matters.DETENTIONSThere were an estimated 1 149 detentions in 1984, thehighest number since 76/77. This lays bare the hol-lowness of the Government's pretentious of concensusrule and reform.The call for `Charge or Release' in South Africa is in-appropriate because in this society the majority of peopleare voteless.They have no say in the formulation of the laws whichgovern them, do not respect the laws designed to subju-gate them nor feel bound by them because to quote alawyer whose assessment of Section 54 of the InternalSecurity Act is:`Any person protesting against any facet of the systemwhether constitutional, political, industrial, social oreconomic, even in an entirely passive and peacefulmanner, can be arrested and tried for offences ofsabotage or subversion. This Act casts the net so wideas to include as criminal and subversive, conduct re-garded as perfectly legitimate and lawful in normalsocieties. It provides the authorities with a useful de-vice to prosecute selectively with no effectivesafeguards'.This leads to:1 the criminalising of legitimate oppositionusing the law courts to effectively n=ts .st=ise oppowho are awaiting trail. (In bail is re-thus disguising the ever increasing number ofdetainees3 the courts themselves being used to subvert the Ruleof Law while apparently observing the due processesof Law.Under these circumstances, the Black Sash rejects thecall for `Charge or Release' and backs the DPSC call forthe `unconditional release' of all detainees and will ac-tively attempt to influence people to take up this call andto demand the abolition of the Internal Security Act in itspresent form.2RAND DAILY MAILhe closing of the Rand Daily Mail is one of theT tragedies of the current recession. Even worse is theState President's reaction to it which refers to `a newSouth Africanism taking control over South Africa' andmakes a sinister threat warning the media that it will haveto take notice of that spirit.Is this `new South Africanism' the repression of dis-sent, the violence and the chaos prevalent in the countrytoday? How can the South African government speak of a`new spirit' of national unity in the midst of a state of na-tional crisis precipitated by apartheid policies and prac-tices which offer nothing worthwhile to the black major-ity and are ruining the economy?We shall continue to work for a free press contributingto the struggle for a free, united and democratic country.THE BLACK SASH-May 1985-Cover (iii)

Page 4 of 38 May 19, 1955 - May 19, 19850ur task is to find the non-violent ways inwhich power can be transferred to thepowerless - not in any desire for the defeat orsubjugation of the presently powerful, but inthe true longing for a society in which equaldistribution of powers will lead to peace andjustice preserved in that creative tension whichexists between conflicting interests of equalstrength.Sheena DuncanCover (ivy-THE BLACK SASH-May 1985

Page 5 of 38 /955 - Bearing the petitions to the Prime Minister's deputy, Mr BenSchoeman, Minister of Transport - the marchersare nearing the toll of the long hill leading to the Union Buildings. Infront, behind the drummer (from left) Mrs BessieBrummer, Mrs Jean Sinclair, Mrs Ruth Foley, Miss Marjorie Juta. photo: `TheBlack Sash' by Mirabel RogersCONTENTS1984 Black Sash National Conference1 Presidential address7 Sir Richard Luyt calls for an end to conscription11 Jill Wentzel - a tributeJoyce Harris12 South Africa in NamibiaDi Bishop and Molly Blackburn discuss theirfindings17 Conference in brief20 Townships in turmoil20 - Barbara Creecy looks at the Vaal uprising23 - Tembiza discussed by Gill de Vlieg24 - Grahamstown, by Gus MacDonald andMargaret BarkerBLACK SASH OFFICES42 De Villiers StreetJohannesburg 2001Phone: 337-2435/6CAPE WESTERN5 Long Street, Mowbray 7700, CapePhone: 65-3513SA ISSN 0036-4843Cover (iil-THE BLACK SASH-May 198525 Audrey Coleman reports on the Uitenhagehorror26 A national memorandum, and affidavitsJoyce Harris28 Members page29 The year in reviewa summary by Marion Spies31 Statement from Natal Coastal32 Voluntary removals a la ViljoenEthel Walt explainsIBC Press statementsCover picture: Police cordon, Uitenhage township,March 7985 - by kind permission of'SygmaBack cover sketch by Bongi MatsosoThe Magazine, as the official organ of the Black Sash, carriesauthoritative articles on the activities of the Black Sash. Theeditorials adhere broadly to the policies of the organisation,which does not, however, necessarily endorse the opinionsexpressed by the contributors.Published by the Black Sash, Khotso House, 42 De VilliersStreet, Johannesburg 2001, and printed by Pacific Press, 302Fox Street, Jeppestown 2094, Johannesburg.COPYRIGHT: The copyright in all material which is identifiedby the symbol is expressly reserved to the Black Sash. Allother material may be freely reproduced provided that thesource and the author are acknowledged.All political comment in this issue, except where otherwise-ted, by G Webster, Khotso House, 42 De Villiers Street,Johannesburg 2001.Production editor: Joyce Brown

Page 6 of 38 mainly in our hands - and political moves to reduce in-ternal unrest could reduce the need for our army to re-main of the present size. And let us not forget the vastvoluntary enlistment of blacks into the East and WestAfrican forces during World War 2, and what efficientand reliable soldiers they became even with modest edu-cation.Yet while there are arguments against ending whiteconscription soon which do indeed need to be met, as Ibelieve they can be, they all seem to be given a totallywrong position in the importance ratings compared withwhat conscription of whites deserves and requires. ThisThe military force of a =try should he drawn fromall the communities or ethnic groups that make up thettal population, and thiscan and should be achievedoon the basis of volunteers.conscription, with exemption only for religious objec-tors is, in our troubled and highly contentious South Af-rica, a denial to those conscripted of the right to exercisefreedom of conscience as to whether or not to serve inthe SADF. And this in a society where the contentiousissues, in which our forces get involved often go to thevery roots of a man's moral standards of life. A draco-nian prison sentence follows if he refuses to serve andcannot establish an acceptable religious objection. andhow agonised are the many who decide that military ser-vice is at least less dreadful than six years in prison! Is itsurprising that one sees so much manoeuvring amongconscripts for soft or non-combatant jobs?And remember that South Africa went through twoworld wars without conscription, when the views andfee, i ng,of our many dissidents were respected, andwhen the military forces relied for their successful volun-tr s, u Por'e t on the worthiness of the cause in which theywere campaigning. What conclusions must one drawfrom this? And can our apartheid way of life, our policytowards Namibia, be maintained only by employing themaximum white military enforcement possible? If this isso, our future is indeed bleak.If not so, why is whites only conscription with all itscontroversy at home and its adverse image abroad main-tained? What other reasons can there be? Think of theprice. We have lost some thousands of young whiteSouth Africans, often of our best, who have on groundsof principle emigrated rather than serve in the SADF inAnd remember that South Africa went through twoworld wars without conscription, when the views andfeelings of our many dissidents were respected, andwhen the military forces relied for their successful vol-unteer support on the worthiness of the cause in whichthey were campaigning.our circumstances. There are others failing to report forservice: there are others whose service is grudging, re-snt thus s Y unsaet f I and urel tisfactory. And there is thewell-known question of the position of the games-play-ing serviceman compared with the different treatment ofthe non-games player. I never cease to be amazed at theease with which talented sportsmen obtain postingswhere sports opportunities are best and where sporting10 THE BLACK SASH- May 1985appearances seldom seem to be interrupted by such mat-ters as service on a distant border.The increasing involvement of the army and thus ofnational servicemen in security duties in Africantownships is further cause for anxiety. These dutiesoften stem from the implementation of highly controver-s, po,ia icie of which the very morality is questioned bymany. Men should not be forced to be thus involved.Ponder also the implications where young whites andblacks have been happily and constructively at school oruniversity together in well earned friendship, and laterthe one, armed, uniformed and representing unpopularpolicy and authority, having to invade the township ofthe other on compulsory military duty.I have said nothing of the possible extension of con-scription to the coloured and Indian groups. I hope itnever happens but logically, those groups being nowpossessed of a vote and in Parliament, it should if onetakes a cue from the policy towards whites. Is our gov-ernment going to turn a blind eye to principle and goingto duck or postpone the issue because of its uncomforta-ble implications? And indeed the implications are highlyuncomfortable in the potential damage to relations bet-ween blacks and the coloured and Indian people, andalso in the potential resistance of coloureds and Indiansto being called up. Is it not so much simpler to abandonconscription for all and to rely on volunteers from allethnic groups?Is hesitance to do this based on doubt of the loyaltyand support of many of our people? It is on record that in1977 the then Minister of Defence argued in Parliamentthat the SADF `cannot distribute arms on a very largescale to blacks without the necessary control measures'.A way of life which all our races find worthy of supportby= or otherwise, must be our aim. Conscriptionhas no role in this. It must be achieved voluntarily, outof conviction that all is well fundamentally in SouthAfrica.This attitude has roots far into our history, but if it stillexists in 1985 must South Africans in general and ourgovernment in particular not consider why this is so andeffect change? A way of life which all our races findworthy of support by arms or otherwise, must be ouraim. Again, conscription has no role in this. It must beachieved voluntarily, out of conviction that all is wellfundamentally in South Africa.Am I being excessively idealistic and impractical? Ibelieve not and I speak as a one-time senior soldier andadministrator. The continuance of conscription will gen-erate greater problems than its abandonment. It is, ofcourse, true that for some people the opportunity to per-form military service, even when conscripted, is an hon-our and a demonstration of patriotism; for others itposes deep moral dilemmas, desperate issues of consci-ence and ghastly alternative choices. To the former Iwould say the end of conscription opens the way to de-monstrate patriotism even more strongly as a volunteer;for the latter only the end of conscription can removetheir agony.I know that large numbers of white South Africansnever stop to question the rightfulness of our conscrip-

Page 7 of 38 tion. I plead to them to do so, and to think deeply on thesubject. It demands and deserves the deepest thought. Iplead to all of you in the audience to weigh such issuesvery carefully; also to those to whom the media (perhapsthat will be mainly here in Port Elizabeth) carry my argu-ments. These arguments have tried to avoid being emo-tional or selfish but directed at the greater interest bothof the individual and of South Africa.Before leaving this subject of conscription I must paytribute not only to the Black Sash for its role in pressingfor its end, but also to the Conscientious Objector Sup-port Group and to those who work in the End Conscrip-tion Campaign, both of whom help many towards a bet-ter understanding of the issues involved, and both ofwhom are responsible for splendid publications. I com-mend these to you.I had thought of touching also on some other impor-tant issues in our South African lives, such as Namibiaand education. The former links with my earlier careerinterest, and indeed the basis on which South Africa as-sumed its role as mandatory power and the extent towhich it has been loyal to that basis over the long years,are fascinating and important to consider, as also is thepresent critical situation. And education (the core of mylater career) with the current and officially adopted aimof equal opportunities for education, including equalstandards in education for every inhabitant, being thepurposeful endeavour of the state, is a subject requiringconstant vigilance and attention. But there is no time forexploration of these things now, even though I hope youwill, as part of the `promotion of justice' by the Sash,keep your minds on them.If tonight I have done no more than to add weight tothe Black Sash's call for an end to conscription, the even-ing will for me have been tremendously well spent.And may you have a wonderful, inspiring and achiev-ing conference in the days ahead.1lilalan reacts toLuyt talkPRETORIA - The Minister of Defence, GeneralMagnus Malan, said yesterday that calls for an end tocompulsory military conscription in South Africashould be addressed to the government commissionstudying the matter.Reacting to an anti-draft speech made by SirRichard Luyt, a former principal of the University ofCape Town, in Port Elizabeth last week, GeneralMalan said: `It is a pity that he chose to air his theoriesto the Black Sash and not to the (GeEdenhuys) com-mittee."General Malan said Sir Richard, himself a soldierof World War II, would be formally incited to expresshis views on conscription. ."I am convinced that the comparison made bet-ween the two previous world wars and the terroristcampaign on home ground could lead to manystimulating thoughts," the minister said, adding,however, that any views expressed should be "purelymilitary and not have a political goal". Sapa(Cape Times, March 22, '85)Below:Members of the Black Sash at theopening of their conference in PortElizabeth, March '85photo: Gill de VliegJill WentzelJILL WENTZELDuring her stint as editor of SASH Jill Wentzelraised it to a new level of excellence, interest andstimulation. She produced a number of issues on spe-cial subjects which were a mine of information, andtook pleasure in the publication of articles which werethought-provoking and sometimes controversial.Her editorials, too, reflected her fascinatingly orig-inal mind and were always beautifully written. Weshall miss her freshness of approach and her en-tthfor what she was doing and thinking, and weare deeply indebted to her for her integrity and hercourage.She worked very hard indeed, collecting contribu-tions and articles for SASH which made each issue re-warding and satisfying to read. People may not al-ways have agreed with everything she said. That is thepenalty of creative thinking. But all will concede thatSASH magazine is a superior product as a result ofher efforts.The combination of Jill Wentzel and Joyce Brown,who has been and still is responsible for the layoutand presentation, was a winning one and we are ex-ceedingly grateful to both of them. We wish Jill luckin her new project and hope and expect that she willnot be entirely lost to us.Joyce HarrisTHE BLACK SASH- May 1985 11

Page 8 of 38 A South African policeman keeps an eye on a power-saluting Swapo supporterphoto: Rand Daily MailWhen they visited Namibia for two weeks last September Di BISHOPand MOLLY BLACKBURN met a cross section of people whom theybelieved to be among the best informed in the territory.Here are their impressions which were presented to the Black Sash Na-tional Conference in Port Elizabeth in March, 1985.South Africa in Namibiae had both been on earlierSADF tours to the NorthernArea and Di had previously been ona private fact-finding visit to Win-dhoek and Walvis Bay.Our September visit included a4 000 km tour by car during whichwe spent a few days at a mission sta-tion about 30 km from the nbo er ee er w =atrd - W nt ed the a aOshivelo where there is a policepost. We were required to state our12 THE BLACK SASH - May 1985=,an d destination and this in-on was checked again whenwe left. No permit was required toenter the area and we travelled un-hindered in Ovambo.From March 11, '85 permits willbe required, the aim of which `is firstand foremost to ensure the safety ofthe public' according to Lt GeneralA J C Gouws, head of the SWA/Namibian police.The might and degree of en-trenchment of the SA militarymachine in Namibia is an indisputa-ble fact.In Ovambo we were constantlyaware of being in the `operationalarea' or war-zone. The indigenousgrowth has been cleared for 50metres away from the sides of theroads. There are massive army andairforce installations in the areaalong with many Koevoet (the SAPolice special counter-insurgency

Page 9 of 38 unit) camps in the villages nearOshakati, Ongwidiva and Ondan-gua. We observed fighter planes fly-ing north towards Angola and heardgun-fire at night. (We were told thatthis was a nightly occurrence stagedfor the purpose of re-assuring whitesin the area). Armoured personnelcarriers, tanks and other militaryvehicles were everywhere. Residen-tial areas were wired off. The `whitearea' of Oshakati is surrounded by ahigh double row of barbed wire fenc-ing. Between the fencing the groundis burnt. Every vehicle entering thearea is searched and armed guardsrecord details of drivers. Bomb-shel-ters are much in evidence in thegrounds of white schools and thehomes of whites - not so in theblack schools and black areas, how-ever.However, the SADF campaignto `win the hearts and minds ofpeople' has clearly not succeeded.South Africa is seen to be a foreign,occupying force. It was made clearto us that no bodies or authoritieselected on an ethnic basis will everhave the support of the majority ofthe people. The lack of civic author-ity in the war-zone has led to a situa-tion bordering on anarchy.The vast majority of people sup-port Swapo. It was often mentionedthat not everyone who supportsSwapo does so because of a commit-ment to the Swapo manifesto, butbecause Swapo symbolizes freedomfrom the current oppression.The generalized marxist label at-tached to Sw apo is false. The major-ity are Christians belonging to theLutheran, Catholic and Anglicanchurches. The total population ofNamibia is one million of whom halfare Ovambo-speaking. Membershipof the ELOK (Evangelical-LutheranChurch of Ovambo Kavango)church totals some 300 000. We un-derstand that all Swapo camps havechaplains.As in all wars, atrocities havebeen committed by both sides. But ahatred of South Africa has been builtup as a result of the imposition forseveral years of a dusk-to-dawn cur-few in the war-zone with a shoot-on-sight instruction after curfew, thepresence of the despised Koevoet,and the now documented evidenceof a number of atrocities perpetratedby men in SA uniform.Wide powers of detention areexercised in terms of the TerrorismAct (still in operation in Namibia)and Proclamations AG9 and AG26.There are no public records of de-tentions and no standing orders orregulations controlling the way andconditions in which people are held.It is not known how many people arecurrently in detention in Namibia.There is ongoing harassment of thecivilian population, eg the army con-ducted a Sunday round-up of 800civilians on their way to church(March 1984) during which peoplewere individually photographed andquestioned as to who they wouldvote for in an election. An officialcomplaint was lodged which elicitedthe response that such actions weredi to prees gned _ vent or suppress ter-rorism.Many people expressed im-mense fear and suspicion of eachother. Several emphasized that noone trusts anyone else, not even hisbrother.Our most overriding impressionwas one of tired, worried peoplewho feel abandoned and expenda-ble. Disillusioned, they see an end tothe war and a free Namibia as re-mote possibilities. They are equallydisillusioned with the international- and particularly American - in-volvement in Namibia.We were left with no doubt as towhere the responsibility lay forachieving an end to the war and set-ting the country on the long hardroad to building a free independentNamibia. South Africa must bear amajor portion of the responsibilityfor what has happened in Namibia.It is in the interest of every South Af-rican and every Namibian that SouthAfrica stops the 18 year old war,ends its occupation of Namibia andthat Resolution 435 (viz annexureA, page 16) be implemented withoutfurther delay. We believe that the at-tainment of a just peace in Namibiacould become a reality if every or-ganisation - including the BlackSash - placed the attainmentthereof high on its agenda in 1985.Di and Brian Bishop with Mrs Elizabeth Malima, 93, mother of SWAPO foun-der Herman Toivo ja Toivo, in her Katutura township.photo: Tony Weaver, RDMTHE BLACK SASH - May 1985 13

Page 10 of 38 Significant events in Namibia 1984 - 1985 IOn January 31, 84 Mr P W Botha stated in Parliament that SA could not be`expected to continue to bear the heavy burden of SWA . . .'(Hansard Col9913)In the wake of a failed attempt to establish a State Council, theMulti-PartyConference (MPC) was established. The six-member MPC met Mr P WBoth a in Cape Town in February and were told that it would be necessary toscrap Namibia's present constitution, ie AG8 of 1980 on which the 10 ethnicsecond tier government rests, in order to draw up a new constitution (CapeTimes Feb 4, 1984).Foundation member of Swapo, Mr Andimba Toivo Ja Toivo was releasedafter spending 16 years on Robben Island.Talks between Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Pik Botha, and US AssistantSecretary of State for African Affairs, Dr Chester Crocker continuedthroughout the year. At least one such meeting was attended by Mr JaToivo. The MPLA government in Luanda has accepted the principle ofCuban troop withdrawal.South African plans for establishing a pre-independence interim govern-ment in Namibia (possibly by June 1985) are apparently well-advanced. Partof the plan (not confirmed by SA) is that the post of Administrator-Generalwill be down-graded and a more junior official will be sent to oversee SAin-terests. DrWv an Niekerk will be recalled (to become the new Minister ofHealth and Welfare in SA?), and all key posts (except Defence and ForeignAffairs) will be taken over by the interim government (Cape Times Jan 74,85).April-three Namibian bishops-Bishop K Dumeni (Lutheran), Bishop JKauluma (Anglican) and Bishop B Haushiku (Catholic) - brought an ap-plication to court on behalf of 37 Cassinga prisoners held at the Marientaldetention camp South of Windhoek. The application called for cause to beshown why the prisoners should not be released forthwith from custody.They had been held since 1978 after what they called `unlawful abductions'from Cassinga, a refugee camp in Southern Angola.The Minister of Justice, Mr K Coetzee, effectively banned the court caseby issuing a certificate under an obsure section of the Defence Act. He alsoordered that no appeal could be made to any court of law against thecertifi-cate. A debate in Parliament on the plight of the detainees was ruled inad-missable on May 18, 84 because `the matter was sub-judice'. This action eli-cited national and international condemnation.May - Dr Wvuatn Niekerk announced that 54 of the 146 detainees would bereleased. All b75 of the detainees were released later in May. The restwere released on Oct 18 (Windhoek Observer) 'Thirty-six of the released detainees are now suing the Minister of Defenceand the Administrator-General for a total in excess of Rlm for alleged un-lawful detention and assault.May -Namibian Independence talks took place in Lusaka between Swapoand a SA delegation headed by the Administrator-General, Dr W vanNiekerk.Mr Anton Lubowski became the first 'white Namibian' to publicly declarehis allegiance to Swapo.Jrvqe-37 people-including members of Swapo were detained under AG9dn-I~atholie Church property on the eve of Mr P W Botha's audience withthe Pleipe.14 THE BLACK SASH - May 1985The horrorsof the warcontinuedthroughoutthe yearTwo US diplomats lost their liveswhen a bomb exploded at theOshakati garage where they hadstopped for petrol. A bomb exp-losion in the crowded OndanguaPost Office claimed four lives,and two were lost in an explosionin an Oshakati shop. (WindhoekObserver Jan 5,)A high-level Anglican Chruchdelegation, sent to Namibia bythe Archbishop of Canterbury,Dr Runcie in March reported thatpeople in the north lived in a`state of perpetual fear and suspi-cion, and they fear the army andKoevoet far more than they fearSwapo'. (Cape Times March 5)The SA Catholic Bishops' Con-ference records with concern themilitarization of Namibia and at-rocities committed by troops, in-cluding Koevoet.In spite of wide-spread resistanceto the idea, all men between theages of 17 and 55 are being regis-tered. Compulsory universalmilitary conscription has existedin Namibia since 1980.The Namibian Bar Council makeserious allegations about actionsand methods used by Koevoet(Argus June 25,'84) and Ministerof Law and Order, Mr L leGrange responds by launchingan unbridled attack on the BarCouncil and the Press. Hestrongly defends Koevoet ac-tions. (Cape Times June 26).The SA government pays outR88 000 to victims of theKoevoet unit for the first timeever just prior to the trial of Ar-chbishop Hurley who was al-leged to have made allegations ofmisconduct by Koevoet. (CapeTimes Jan 29)No action has as yet been takenagainst the four non-commis-sioned officers of Koevoet whowere warned as possible accusedfollowing the death in detentionof a school teacher, Mr J Hamuk-wayo.

Page 11 of 38 On December 14, the Minister ofPolice and SWA governmentfailed in their application forleave to appeal against the Win-dhoek supreme court finding inOctober 1982 that Mr J Kakuvahad `died of injuries while inpolice custody'. Mr JusticeMouton's findings in the judge-ment were significant in that itwas the first time - in eitherNamibia or South Africa - thata court had found that a personhad died of injuries while in de-tention.An inquest court found that amember of the SADF was re-sponsible for the burning todeath of four members of a fam-ily in Kavango.Two young boys were blown upby a landmine which they step-ped on in the Ohongo area andtwo civilians were shot and killedby a police patrol unit who mis-took them for insurgents. Theywere not held criminally liablefor the deaths of these men.At least 1(1 people - most ofthem members of the Anglicanchurch - were detained by theSA security police in Ovambo onJan 1 in terms of AG9. The Presswere requested riot to publishtheir names. Press, March 5, 85)The death sentence imposed onex-Koevoet member, JonasPaulus (23 years), on Dec 6, '83was upheld by the Appellate Di-vision. Paulus was described dur-ing the course of his trial as a`programmed killer'.In his own evidence in mitiga-tion of sentence, Paulus told thejudge of his war experiences, ofplanes bombing settlements andof people in flames. He said hiswar was against Swapo and theMPLA. Evidence during histrial, of Koevaet fighters earning`kopgeld' (bounty) for Swapoguerillas killed, served to con-firm widespread rumours of thisnature (Wi,,dhoekO6serverSept STATEMENT29)Two soldiers of the SWA Ter-ritorial forces were each finedR51) for spit roasting a 63-year-old-civilian, Mr NdaroKapitango. His right arm wasamputated as a result of theordeal. Mr Kapitango is suingthe Minister of Defence.July - The Windhoek Observer was banned. It was well-known as one ofthe most ferocious opponents of apartheid. Unbanned in August it has con-tinued to function without its political editor Gwen Listenad Lister has been subjected to on-going harassment. She now works asBBC correspondent in Windhoek. In December she was detained for threedays and was due to be charged under the Official Secrets Act for illegallyopening mail which was not addressed to her (Cape TimesDec 15,). Whenshe was scheduled to appear in court, the prosecutor informed the presidingmagistrate that charges would no longer be pressed.The incident related to Ms Lister being sent a letter which was intendedfor the Postmaster-General in Windhoek. The letter, marked `Top Secret',came from the Commissioner of Police in Pretoria requesting the Postmas-ter-General to intercept all mail addressed to and sent by Ms Lister `inthe in-terest of state security'.September - Dr Jonas Savimbi of UNITA, attended the inauguration ofPres P W Botha in Cape Town.October - with the increasing diplomatic confrontation over the CoventryFour, the SA Ambassador at the UN Security Council, Mr K Von Schirnd-ing warned the world body that South Africa `will withdraw our contributionto peace in Southern Africa' unless hostility towards SA stopped (CapeTimes Oct 25)October - Archbishop Denis Hurley pleaded `not guilty' to a charge of con-travening Sec 27 (b) of the 1958 Police Act after alleging that Koevoet hadperpetrated atrocities.The trial was due to proceed on February 18. Senior clergymen from over-seas were to attend the trial and there was widespread support for the Ar-chbishop from within and outside the Catholic Church. Charges against himwere suddenly withdrawn on Feb 15.The Afrikaans press has been particularly outspoken on the government'shandling of the court action against the Archbishop. They have pointed outthat the end of the case against the Archbishop has decidedly not closed thedossier on Koevoet and other allegations (Cape Times review of AfrikaansPFP spokesman of Foreign Affairs, Mr Colin Eglin MP called on the BothaAdministration to get out of Namibia without delay.A huge military operation - Exercise Thunderchariot - took place in theNorthern Cape in Sept and October, the provisional cost of which is R24million (Cape Times Feb 13, 85)Civilians in Ovambo fear that this exercise may be the forerunner toanother raid through Ovambo into AngolaAt a press briefing, Col Kleynhans, senior staff officer of the SWA Ter-ritorial Forces said that a cross-border attack on Swapo headquarters in An-gola should not be ruled out (Argus, Dec 20)From March this year the Northern Border of Namibia with Angola andZambia and a large area of Namibia's eastern. frontier with Botswana havebeen declared `security areas'. Access will be prohibitied unless a visitorhasbeen issued with a permit by the police.The Black Sash reiterates its demand for:1 An end to the war and South Africa's illegal occupation ofNamibia;The immediate implementation of UN Resolution 435;The disbanding of the notorious paramilitary police task forceKoevoet;The release of ail Namibian political prisoners and detaineesThe abolition of the Terrrorism Act and all Attorney General proc-lamations relating to security in Namibia.2345THE BLACK SASH- May 1985 15

Page 12 of 38 Annexure AResolution 435Adopted by the SecurityCouncil at its 2087thmeeting on September29,197$.The Security Council,Recalling its resolution 385(1376) and 431 (1978), and 432t1978)Having considered the reportsubmitted by the Secretary-General pursuant to paragraph2 of resolution 431 (1978) (Sl12827 and his explanatorystatement made in the Sec-urity Council on September 291878 (S1128691,Taking note also of the letterdated September 8 1978 fromthe President of the SouthWest Africa People's Organisa-tion iSWAPt?I addressed tothe Secretary-General (S/'i2841 ),Reaffirming the legal resl3onsi-blity of the United Nationsover Namibia,1 Approves the report of theSecretary-General (S/12827) for the implementa-tion of the proposal for asettlement of the Nami-bian situation (5112636Jand his explanatory state-ment (S112869)2 Reiterates that its objec-tive is the withdrawal ofSouth Africa's illegal ad-ministration of Namibiaand the transfer of powerto the people of Namibiawith the assistance of theUnited Nations in accor-dance with resolution 385(1971;3 Decides to establish underits authority a United Na-tions Transitional Assis-tance Group (UNTAG) inaccordance with theabovementioned report ofthe Secretary-General for aperiod of up to 12 monthsin order to assist his Spe-cial Representative tocarry out the mandate con-ferred upon him by parag-raph 1 of Security Councilresolution 431 (1978y,namely, to ensure the earlyindependence of Namibiathrough free and fair elec-tions under the supervi-sion and control of the Un-ited Nations;4. Welcomes SWAP's pre-paredness to co-operate inthe implementation of theSecretary-General's re-port, including its expres-sed readiness to sign andobserve the cease-fire pro-visions as manifested inthe letter from the Presi-dent of SWAPU dated 8September 197$ (S/12841;5 Calls on South Africa forth-with to co-operate withthe Secretary-General inthe implementation of thisresolution.8 Declares that all unilateralmeasures taken by the il-legal administration inNamibia in relation to theelectoral process, includ-ing unilateral registrationof voters, or transfer ofpower, in contravention ofSecurity Council resolu-tion 385 i1976i, 431 (19T8)and this resolution are nulland void,7 Requests the Secretary-General to report to theSecurity Council not laterthan October 23 1978 onthe implementation of thisresolution.In conclusion One cannot help wondering whether- if and when South Africa pulls out- it plans to leave a completely col-The economy of Namibia is in amess. The war itself costs over R lmper day, but the multiple govern-ment system has an even more de-vastating effect. In the first five yearsof having 10 different ethnic `gov-ernments', state spending rose from32,7% of Gross Domestic Product to62%. The salaries alone of the vastnumber of civil servants exceeds thetotal tax income of Namibia.There is a lesson for South Africato be learned from this experience.The new SA Constitution of `OwnAffairs Governments' is based onthe failed Namibian experiment.South Africa's economy is beingcrippled by ideological spending.In an interesting review ofNamibia published on Jan 7, MrTony Heard, editor of the CapeTimes, refers to allegations of over-mining and corporate tax-dodging.16 THE BLACK SASH-May 1985Tanks in the Namib desertlapsed economy, and every citizenarmed in order to create anotherMatabeleland-like situation.photo: Rand Daily Mail

Page 13 of 38 Conference 1985for those who did not attendThe 1985 conference dealt with 40 papers in 22 hours over four days. Whatwas it allabout? And what were some of our achievements, resolutions and decisions?Thursday afternoon - March 14We started in silence for those who died in detention.The first session dealt, in the main as it always does, with headquartersre-ports and our national business. (See page 29)Glenda Glover put forward a suggestion that we need to widen our leader-ship. She said it ought to include more representation from other regions.And it should create space for inexperienced, would-be leaders to learnfrom their experienced colleagues.Thursday eveningStatements, Resolutions, DecisionsA press statement calling for the un-conditional release of all detainees.Agreement to increase the price ofthe magazine from 82,00 to 82,60We agreed to thinkabout solutions to thisproblem for next years'conference.Glenda GloverMany of us stood in the foyer hold-ing posters to demonstrate againstthe refusal of bail for awaiting trialprisoners.A press statement on the need to im-prove the standard of interpretationin court.Another press statement calling forfree legal aid for the needy in bothcriminal and civil cases.A press statement condemning Zacde Beer's call to scrap the minimumwage.The Port Elizabeth City Hall, 8pmSheena Duncan opened the conference with the presidential address (seepage 1)Sir Richard Luyt spoke next, giving his arguments for the need to abolishcompulsory military service (see page 7)Friday morningWe dealt with 14 reports, region by region, of general activity (see page29)and advice office work (coming up next issue).Miriam Hepner presented a paper in which Margo Mc Quirter describesprocedures in the Johannesburg pass courts. A case is heard once every twoor three minutes, `with a great deal of confusion on prisoners' faces'.Noel Robb told us about Cape Western's compaign on influx control. It willstart with a meeting of all organisations concerned with the matter. Fromthis a brainstrust will follow to consider what will happen if influxcontrol isdropped.Friday afternoonWe devoted most of the afternoon to descriptions of urban unrest, its causesand how the authorities have dealt with it.Matthew Goniwe, chairman of Cradora, the Cradock Resident Association,told us about hardships and community resistance in Cradock'stownship. Matthew is now listed and may not be quoted.Mkhuseli Jack, a youth leader of Peyco, the Port Elizabeth youth congressgave us some valuable insight into young peoples' anger and its causes, egthe new constitution and unemployment.Michael Mjekula, from the Ministers Fraternal in Port Elizabeth spokeabout black anger. He said that it was naive to think that revolution hadnotbegun, but it was not too late to call the real leaders and talk to find asolu-tion.Miriam HepnerMichael Mjekula Mkhuseli JackTHE BLACK SASH- May 1985 17

Page 14 of 38 Our own members, Merle Beetge, Ann van Gylswyk, Gill de Vlieg, Mar-garet Barker, Gus Macdonald and Barbara Creecy gave further reports ontownship turmoil. (see pages 20-24)To end the afternoon, Natal's contribution to the discussion on unrest wasprovided by another guest speaker, David Ginsberg from Natal University.He said that `capital creates instability via unemployment'. Mr Ginsberg'spaper generated controversy and a lively debate.,Merle Beetge Annica van DavidGylswyk GinsbergWe concluded that, regrettably, vio-lence has become inevitable in thestruggle for a just society. Our ownstand continues to be a non-violentone. Our leaders should continue tohighlight the causes of violence andcounter-violence and we should con-tinue to promote non-violence.Saturday morningThis was a closed session in which we broke into groups to discuss somequestions about violence.Saturday afternoonBy this time we had reached our 22nd paper. It was a more hopeful TRACreport on removals read by Joanne Yawitch. Pessa Weinberg presented herreport on threatened communities in Natal. We will deal with these in alaterissue.From Jenny de Tolly we heard about urban removals and resistence to themin the Western Cape. Margaret Nash included a policy document for organi-sations interested in the development of Kyalitsha on a non-apartheid basis.From Ann Colvin we heard about the lack of housing in Grahamstown andthe struggle to maintain a township at Hambanati in Natal. (We will alsodeal with housing again in a later issue).The most important reports will come up again in later issues of SASH. MaryBurton presented Laurine Platsky's proposal about farmworkers, `the mostisolated and exploited group'. She proposed that the Sash should compile abooklet about rights, pensions and so on in its series `You and . . .' forfarmworkers.Two other booklets in the `You and . . . ' series were circulated-You andyour state pension' by Sheena Duncan and `You and Khayelitsha' by threemembers of Cape Western.Nicola Peart, via Mary Burton, reported that the Government has referredthe matter of marriage laws affecting Africans to the Law commission. Workhas started on it.Beulah Rollnick told us that someone is now employed to go into thetownships to organise the unemployed in order to solve some UIF problems.Solveigh Pyper reported on mismanagement of these funds and requestedmore information be sent to her.The afternoon ended with Di Bishop reporting on a fact-finding visit thatsheand Molly Blackburn had made to Namibia (see page 12).Saturday eveningWe spent a relaxed and happy evening enjoying the hospitality of the PortEa t vli~ beth memb rs at Zoe Riordan's house. The evening ended wi h a ideoof the End Conscription Campaign Launch in Cape Town. Sheena Duncanwas a guest speaker at this meeting.18 THE BLACK SASH - May 1985Gill de Vlieg Joanne YawitchPessa Weinburg Ann Colvina N, zSolveig Piper Beulah RollnickMargaret Nash (left) andMarv BurtonPress statement demanding the im-plementation of various measures toresolve the war and its atrocities inNamibia.

Page 15 of 38 Sunday morningThe morning started with paper 31 on repression, in which Barbara Creecydiscussed the use of detention, the courts and a `variety of methods to curbdemocrative organisation and harass its leaders'.Natal coastal read out a proposal calling on the national executive toappointan editorial committee to work with the new editor to ensure that `themagazine serves the aims of the Black Sash as effectively as possible'.Glenda Webster reaffirmed the request she made to the national executivebefore conference that she wanted to work with a committee.Joanne Yawitch presented a TRAC report on ethnic divisions and repres-sion in the Bantustans.Annica van Gylswyk reported on pensions in Winterveld, Bophuthatswana.We discussed the effectiveness and value of Bophuthatswana's Bill ofRights. It was suggested that the Black Sash should prepare a booklet orpaper on the abrogation of the Bill of Rights in Bophuthatswana.We elected leaders for 1985.Sheena Duncan announced that Cape Western may be prepared to takeover the national headquarters in 1986.Jenny de TollyBeavers RuncimanJudith HawardenNational president - Sheena Duncan,(centre), national vice-presidents - JoyceHarris (right), and Ethel WaltA resolution that the Black Sash con-tinues to call for an end both to milit-ary conscription and to the deploy-ment of troops in policing the apar-theid system in the black townships.The Black Sash supports the AdPacem proposals of the Civil RightsLeague that call for recognition bythe government of:- Conscientious objection to militaryservice on the grounds of deeplyheld ethical convictions againstwar, and of- alternative, non-military forms ofnational service.Sunday afternoonThe last session of conference dealt with the End Conscription Campaignand Education.Teral Bower of Grahams=tn,Ann Colvin of urlaBne, enda ~lo,er ofn rg, a~lerJoha nesbu Sandy Ste f Port Elizabeth and Ru iman ICT vape own all reported on ECC acti, ties and followup in their areas. ewill deal with these reports again in a later issue.Judith Ha warden presented an overview of the crisis in black education in1984. This was complemented by a paper that Annica van Gylswyk preparedon discussions she had had with residents in areas affected by the educationcrisis in Pretoria.Finally, Natal coastal agreed to host the 1986 National Conference in Dur-ban starting on March 13.photo: Colin Urguhart, E P HeraldTHE BLACK SASH-May 1985 19

Page 16 of 38 Townships in turmoilA mob flees from a shopping complex in Evaton as police confront looters.photo: Sunday TimesTownships around the country have been in turmoilthroughout the past year. The Sash witnessed onesuch flare up in Port Elizabeth in March.What is the background to this turmoil?The spark in each township may be different - itcould be rising rents, opposition to the new constitu-tion, demonstrations around educational issues or in-ceases in bus fares. Whatever it is, the fuel that keeps itgoing is a powder keg of general discontent including:Discontent with community councils, blackpolice, administration boardsdissatisfaction with bantu educationds y t w co itutio.i=onacadused b. he ne nstiec ic . socia hardship (unemployment,increasing prices, rents etc)internal power struggles within the black com-munities themselvespolice and army conduct.There are no clear divisions between one cause andanother. A civic issue such as increasing rent may leadto police interference and the detention of a leader.This in turn will lead to ferment in the schools and aboycott of class, as was the case in Lingelihle, Crad-dock (see Sash, Volume 27, Nos 2 & 4)This assessment of the situation becomes apparentThe VAAL uprisingn September 1, the Lekoa town Council's 85.90rent increase was due to come into effect. Theareas affected were Evaton, Sebokeng, Sharpeville,Bophelong and Boipatong with a total' population ofabout 300 000.Housing was a major grievance. Rents in the arearanging between R50 and RI00 per month, are amongst20 THE BLACK SASH - May 1985when one looks at the information on urban unrest thatwas presented to conference. Each township has aslightly different story to tell but together they amountto the same pattern of discontent and turmoil.Unrest in TEMBISA, according to GILL deVLIEG'S report, was sparked off by specifically edu-cational issues - students' demands for SRC's. Yetthe first target was a councillor. Gill's article gives usgreater insight into the causes of antagonism againstthe police in the townships (see page 23).A report from MARGARET BARKER and GUSMACDONALD in GRAHAMSTOWN documents thestages of unrest between October, '84 and January thisyear. This turmoil begins with opposition to the con-stitution, but it takes place in the schools and the firsttarget is a black policeman (see page 24).In the VAAL TRIANGLE, the pending implemen-tation of a rent increase on September 1, 1984 fuelled amajor crisis which to this day remains unresolved. Itleft 14 people dead and some 300 injured. In thatmonth over 1 000 were arrested and currently some 80are still in detention.BARBARA CREECY'S report to conference liststhe hardships and grievances of the people and de-scribes police and army involvement.the highest in the country and moretn f of theha hal households were al-ready in arrears in their rents. Inother townships rents are below R50a month. Barbara CreecyOther causes of dissatisfaction in the area were that:* Evaton residents live in constant fear of losing their

Page 17 of 38 freehold status. Evaton is the last remainingtownship in the Transvaal where people have re-tained freehold rights.There are 150 000 shacks in the area housing illegalsand people on waiting lists for houses. In addition tobeing unsatisfactory places to stay, shack dwellerslive with the ever-present danger that their shacksmay be demolished.Electricity tariffs were to be increased from 53c to62c a unit and the levy from 810 to Rl2 in rentedhouses, and from 812,50 to 815 in bought houses.The Lekoa and Evaton town councils were electedby very low polls in December 1983. In Lekoa thepoll was 15% of registered voters which representsonly 9% of the adult population.Councillors, including the mayor of the Lekoa towncouncil, Esau Mahlatsi, own the majority oftownship businesses. Since becoming mayor,Mahlatsi has acquired three garages and aroadhouse. Three councillors have been chargedwith acquiring as much as 8500 000 through the il-legal allocation of bottle store licenses, sites andhouses.The rent increases were announced in July 1984. TheVaal Civic Association, Vaal Womens Organisation,Cows, Vaal Youth Steering Committee and varioustrade unions came together to oppose the increases. InSharpeville an anti-rent committee was set up to opposethe increases.The organisations involved called meetings, wrote let-ters to the councils and circulated a petition. The in-creases were not retracted.At meetings held during the week prior to the im-plementation of the increase, residents decided on aone-day work stay-away on Monday September 3.On that day the majority of residents stayed awayfrom work. 2 000 people embarked on a peaceful marchto the Houtkop Administration board offices to ask thatthe increase be dropped.On their way to the board's offices they stopped at thehome of councillor Caesar Motjeane and asked him tojoin them. Instead he allegedly opened fire on thecrowd, hitting two people. The crowd retaliated and kil-led him.Violence broke out and police used teargas, rubberbullets and as the day wore on, birdshot and buckshot.Official figures released by the police at the end of theday were 14 dead and $ police and 32 civilians injured.However residents and church ministers say the real fi-gures were much higher. One estimate was 250 injured(Star 4-9-84).Included among the dead were two community coun-cillors. Beer halls, administration board buildings, shopsand bottle stores were stoned and set alight. Cars andbuses were damaged.By Tuesday police announced that 48 people had beeninjured. the Rand Daily Mail estimated 300 (RDM 5-9-84). Police instructed hospitals in the area not to releasecasualty figures (Star 4-9-84). Eye witnesses say thatpeople were too scared to go to hospital because injuredpeople were arrested as they left the casualty section.Many more people could not get to hospitals becausethere was no transport (see story in Repression in a timeof reform, a booklet produced by the `CommitteeAgainst Repression').People could not go to work. Only a token bus servicewas running to the edges of the township. With busines-ses in the townships either closed or burnt down, peoplecould not get food and without transport they could notgo to the white towns to get food either.On Wednesday, a large crowd marched on the Shar-peville administration board offices carrying white flagsand a banner saying `Rent 830, Release Moruti'. Morutiwas a local priest, thought to have been detained the pre-vious day. The delegation demanded that:* All rents be decreased to 830* All members of the town council resign* Police release all people arrested or detained duringthe unrest* They be allowed to bury those who had died in theunrest without police interference.The delegation spent eight hours negotiating with boardofficials, two town councillors and a police representa-tive while a crowd of 3 000, standing face to face with alarge contingent of armed policemen - waited outsidethe office to hear the outcome of the meeting.The board and the council agreed to call an emergencymeeting to discuss the demand to reduce rents and ser-vice charges. The other demands were not met. Resi-dents demanded that the increases be scrapped and rentsbe reduced to 830 a month. From this time until the pre-sent day 300 000 households have refused to pay rent.In an effort to break the resistance of residents to theincrease, the police and army kept the Vatownships ina virtual state of siege throughout September and Oc-tober. Some of the features of this period included:All meetings were bannedThere were large-scale arrests. Over 1 000 peoplewere arrested in September. Many were chargedwith public violence and intimidation. Some paid ad-mission of guilt fines while others were released onbail of between 8200 and 8300. This bail was farhigher than usually set by the courts for this type ofoffence. As a result many could not afford bail andremained in custody.Many of those released on bail or discharged wereimmediately re-detained under Section 29 of the In-ternal Security Act. Over 80 people are still in deten-tion, some of them for more than six months.From October, the security police began systemati-cally detaining people connected to the Vaal CivicAssociation, Vaal Organisation of Women, Cosas,Vaal Youth Steering Committee and other organisa-tions in the area. People detained included FatherLord McCamel, chairman of the Vaal Civic Associa-tion and of the Vaal Ministers Solidarity Group setup to help in the situation of unrest, and PetrusMokoean2, chair of the Evaton Ratepayers Associa-tion.Funerals of victims of the unrest were characterisedby a heavy police presence. Funeral processionswere teargassed and in one incident police sur-rounded buses leaving a funeral, sjambokked thepassengers and arrested 204 people. At another fun-eral the following weekend (23-9-84), 598 mournerswere arrested. They were kept in custody under Sec-tion 50 of the Criminal Procedures Act - withoutadequate food, washing and sleeping facilities - formore than 48 hours.Police constantly patrolled the streets imposing anTHE BLACK SASH - May 1985 21

Page 18 of 38 informal curfew at night. People - especially ingroups - after 6.00 pm were arbitrarily teargassedand sometimes shot at. Many of the innocent victimsof police action are suing the Minister of Police.* On September 26, 7 000 members of the SADF armyand police moved into Sebokeng in what was named`Operation Palmiet'. Soldiers cordoned off the areafrom 2 am and conducted house to house searches.The intention was to `crack down on criminal and re-volutionary elements' said Minister of Law andOrder, Le Grange. The police and army also issuedpamphlets reading : `We are here to promote a nor-mal social life, continued education, safe travel, sta-bility, a healthy community, the delivery of food -TRUST US'.Over 350 people were arrested for pass offences anddetained. This was the first time in recent history that thearmy has been used on such an extensive and public scaleto curb township unrest.* Numerous anonymous smear pamphlets were distri-buted in the Vaal townships. For example one pam-phlet called on people not to observe the stay-awayand blamed the violence on the Vaal Civic Associa-tion.Slogans painted on walls throughout the townshipsblame Cocas for the unrest. Some read `Kill Cocas'.* Leading members of organisations were subjected tovictimisation. The home of the vice-chair of the,,VCA, Esau Raditela was burnt down on 19-9-84.some neighbours claimed they saw police near thehouse minutes before the blaze began 5-9-,e 25-9-84). More recently members of the SharpevilleDPC have been awakened in the middle of the nightby armed thugs and threatened with assault anddeath.* Organisations in the area claim that the police havesponsored the setting up of new organisations such asthe Sharpeville Students National Resistance Move-ment which aim to sow division and confusionamongst students.At the end of September the Lekoa mayor announcedthat the rent increases would be suspended until June1985. He also warned that the standard of services woulddrop and projects such as tarring of roads, building ofcreches and the erection of high mast lights would bescrapped.Only eight of the 42 councillors in the Vaal haveheeded residents call for them to resign. 26 councillorsand their families are staying in a heavily policed com-plex surrounded by barbed wire on the outskirts ofSebokeng. Three were killed in the unrest.The rent boycott continues. This is the longest rentboycott in South African history. By January 1985 thecouncil was owed R10 million in rent arrears, increasingat a rate of R2 million a month.The police, the town council and the administrationboards have tried numerous ways to entice or force resi-dents to pay rents, such as:Threats of eviction for non-payment of rent;employers asked to deduct rent from pay packets; anelectricity black-out; garbage not collected. Pamphletswere distributed encouraging people to buy their housesunder 99-year leasehold, in which case they need not payrent.These attempts have not deterred the resolve toboycott rents or to continue calling for the resignation oftown councillors and the release of all detainees.During the November 5/6 Transvaal-wide stay-away,95% of Vaal residents stayed at home.A Vaal Information Service is working to help victimsof the unrest and Detainees Parents Support Commit-tees have been established in Sharpeville and Sebokeng.As a result of their pressure, some detainees have beenallowed food parcels and visits.So far only two people have appeared in court.Mongezi Radebe and Mantsosa Ramakau were chargedwith high treason. When the trial began the charges ofhigh treason were dropped and they were fined 8800 forminor offences and released. Barbara CreecyRioting in Evaton22 THE BLACK SASH - May 1985photo: Sunday Times

Page 19 of 38 1 TEMBISA - An informal lookat a townshipTembisa , north/east of Johannesburg betweenKempton Park to the south, Olifantsfontein (Mid-rand) to the north and Halfway House to the west is ap-proximately 27 km from Johannesburg and 38 km fromPretoria.People from Tembisa work in the factories of Isando,Modderfontein and Olifantsfontein, the shops andhomes of Kempton Park and Edenvale. Employment isalso found at Jan Smuts Airport and in Johannesburgand Pretoria. Transport to work is provided by PUTCO,township taxis, a rail service and private cars.It is a medium sized township and over the last yearhas been beset with the same problems that manytownships country-wide have had to face.In July last year, the school boycotts began in Tern -bisa. The boycott was restricted to the high schools, ofwhich there are five. Meetings to discuss the boycottwhere held on a regular basis in one of the cinemas.These meetings were organised by COSAS, a branch ofwhich was begun in Tembisa in February 1984. Slideshows, videos, plays and poems were also presented atthe meetings.On August 21 the first student demonstration began.The students marched through the main streets singingsongs and holding banners and placards demandingSRC's. The march was dispersed by the police firing teargas. That same day the house of a councillor/teacher wasburnt, as were beerhalls and a school. Windows werebroken at the Mayor's shop and at the home of the headof the PTA.A pattern of arrest began that day and continues to thepresent. The police disperse demonstrators who thenflee in all directions. It is alleged that the police then pat-rol the streets picking up anyone who looks a likely sus-pect to them. Allegedly these `suspects' are taken to thepolice station where they are beaten to elicit informa-tion. They are then released or kept in custody andcharged with public violence. Many youngsters remainin custody longer than necessary because their parentsfrequently do not realise they have been arrested. Bail isoften set at 8200 per offence. After a demonstration orattack on buses, cars etc, the police will continue to pat-rol the streets in `hippos', firing tearsmoke throughoutthe rest of the day and into the night. Workers cominghome are often affected by this and have to rush homefrom the transport.From August, police have been guarding some coun-cillor's houses and shops. This is when protection hasbeen requested by the owners. There are reports ofthese police being very undisciplined. A youth, EM wasaccused of having a catapult and dagga. Two policementhen handcuffed him and beat him with their fists and rif-lebutts. They searched him and only found a packet ofcommercial cigarettes. The youth panicked and tried torun away. He was shot and killed by the police. His fam-ily were approached later by the police and asked if theywould like `protection' from the students for the funeral.During the `stayaway' of November 5/6, Tembisa wassubjected to a great deal of violence. From the earlyhours of Monday barricades had been put across thestreets. These barricades were made up of refuse con-tainers, cement mixers, plastic milkbottle crates, rocks,bricks, wire etc. Beerhalls and councillor's homes wereset alight as were five carriages of a train. Hippos con-stantly roamed the streets firing tear gas, rubber bulletsand birdshot. Anyone found in the street was picked upand taken to the police station. It has been impossible toestablish all the trauma arising from this period. Onedoctor has told of the numerous elderly women and chil-dren that he treated for bird shot wounds.People disliked going to the local Tembisa Hospital,because they felt that the doctors would report them tothe police. Mr E was standing inside his yard when threeblack policemen approached him and asked him why hewas there. Without waiting for his reply one of thepolicemen shot him in the leg. His lower leg has had tobe amputated. Mr E was charged with public violenceand the case has recently been dismissed. It was also atime when some people took advantage of the unrestsituation and settled personal vendettas, ie by burningbusiness rival's shops.Except for a period in December/January the situa-tion in Tembisa has been tense. Shortly after the 'staya-way' the SADF (army) moved into Tembisa. Somemembers of the army were camped on the outskirtsamongst farmworkers houses. This is near a `back' entr-ance into Tembisa which the police had sealed off duringthe `stayaway'. It has not been easy to assess the effect ofthe army within the township. Certainly the violence in-creased in all aspects, and the whole population of Tem-bisa felt violated. The psychological effects of the occu-pation will never be known. One young man has hadfainting attacks, although otherwise he is physically fine..A i i fun ion.he ssoct.aot.fon has be~un ct ing in Tem-It as abis~a. C' ' 10 support in some sections of thetownship, but has, as yet, not been organised in othersections. Unfortunately it also seems as though there is aproblem between pro BC/pro UDF elements within theCivic Association.This tension between the two ideologies came to ahead on January 20 1985, when AZAPO attempted toform a branch of AZASM in Tembisa. This was shortlyafter the visit to SA by Senator Edward Kennedy. Aphysical fight broke out and people were injured.Over the past nine months Tembisa has seen theharassment of the Shangaans, the Simba boycott, theclosing of shebeens and night clubs over the Christmas/New year period to observe `black Christmas', the be-ginning of a women's group, a youth group and the CivicAssociation.Students returned to school in January. Howeverwhen the organising secretary of COSAS in Tembisawas arrested in February, his school again boycottedclasses. A peaceful march of about 5 000 students to thepolice station demanding the release of a teacher andstudents resulted in the DET suspending all high schoolsuntil March 11. There is also evidence that primaryschools are now becoming involved and are also leavingtheir classes.In the future lies a possible PUTCO boycott. At pre-sent buses are having to halt on the outskirts of thetownship. The economic stress felt by the workers andunemployed alike is adding to the discontent already ap-parent within the township.Gill de VliegTHE BLACK SASH- May 1985 23

Page 20 of 38 1 GRAHAMSTOWN -Unrest and boycottsStage 1 In September 1984, a countrywide call to makeknown black peoples' attitude to the new con-stitution was observed with enthusiasm bysome blacks in Grahamstown. The children atthe two high schools and one lower secondaryschool stayed away on the first day of the call.Attendance was sporadic until the end of theSeptember.Stage 2 By the beginning of October the schoolsboycott was totally effective. The studentsfrom the high schools went into the lower andhigher primary schools and intimidated bothstaff and pupils for several days until it was im-possible for the schools to continue. Duringthis period the obvious focus of discontentwhich is Raglan Road, the main route to EastLondon, was under siege most days from about5 pm onwards. All travellers came under thehail of stones. There was a constant police pat-rol.Stage 3 The closure of schools meant that there were10 000 children out on the streets. Confronta-tion with the police was inevitable particularlywhen public transport was threatened. (Weow no longer have public transport inrahamstown). The' white teachers at Nom-bulelo Secondary School, compelled to attendby Departmental regulations, had their cartyres slashed. There were barricades in thestreets, the police presence was not enoughand so the hippo army vehicles manned by na-tional servicemen from the local army campwere called out. Teargas and rubber bulletswere used to keep order but that resulted in anumber of people being seriously injured andhospitalised. There were reports of sjambok-king, house raids, arrests and all the time thetownships were lit up at night by either one ortwo mobile searchlights stationed on GunfireHill below the 1820 Monument.Stage 4 The first death in Grahamstown came in thebeginning of November when a constable'shouse was attacked by 200 youths and the con-stable retaliated by shooting. A work stay-away was called for on November 9 and 70% ofthe population responded (as a result somepeople lost their jobs though employers such asthe Municipality only docked their wages). Onthat day a large number of youths went to PortAlfred for a funeral. The second death occur-red in Grahamstown within hours of the fun-eral of the first victim. The family of this 18-year-old boy particularly requested that thereshould be no stay-away on the day of the fun-eral as they did not want more people to sufferor lose jobs.24 THE BLACK SASH - May 1985Margaret Barker (left) and Gus MacdonaldStage 5 There was a period of uneasy quiet while nego-tiations for the return to school in the NewYear were being conducted before the end ofthe 1984 school year. Then the burningsstarted. Three lower primary schools housed inchurch buildings hired by the Departmentwere attacked and some of the classrooms weredestroyed. Then the historic Methodist churchi Victn Loria Road was gutted. Governmentbuildings, beerhalls, post office communitycentres also were subject to arson. New Yearsday was particulary bad. The building whichhoused the Advice Office, GADRA, CivilianBlind, Cripple Care etc was burned when treeswhich form the boundary with ECABstorerooms next door were set alight. Thebuilding was looted. In the coloured townshipon the same day a house which was the centrefor GYM (Grahamstown Youth Movement),GRACA, CRC (Grahamtown ResettlementCommittee) SAAWU (Trade Union) was at-tacked by a petrol bomb and the interior gut-ted. It seems as if at this point older people de-cided that they must press more heavily for re-storation to normality. No one was sure thatschool would start but in fact January 8 saw60% of lower primary children back at school.All 1984 exams have been written from Sub A to Std 9and the 1985 academic year has begun. We hear of iso-lated incidents of unrest but generally the townships arequiet. What is incalculable is white backlash and thedamage to community relations in a small town where itis not possible to escape the influence of other groups.A local academician has written a paper `Continuingunrest - a small town perspective' which is available tobe read. He said. . . there seem to be five inter-related elements in-volved in the present troubles, most of which are essen-tially national issues, but each of which possesses aparticular local flavour mediated by unique incidentsand the personalities of the individuals involved. Theelements are: (i) the new constitution (ii) the crisis inlocal government, (iii) black educational issues, (iv)the drought and recession, (v) internal power struggleswithin the black communities. Where the scale is toosmall for the leadership to be inconspicuous, troublesare less likely, but Graaf Reinet, Cradock andGrahamstown, and even Port Alfred with its 12 000black residents have reached that critical mass neces-sary to sustain unrest over months.Margaret BarkerGus Macdonald Albany Region

Page 21 of 38 Uitenhage police station - ona Sunday afternoonConference with its 40 papers in 22 hours was onething. The events outside were another. On severaloccasions conference attention was drawn away to theseevents. Most notable of them were calls from members ofthe black community who sought help when they heardthat their children were being abused in prison or as-saulted at the hands of the police.AUDREY COLEMAN was one of the Black Sash dele-gates appointed to investigate these calls and she becameclosely involved in these rescue attempts. They led herand other conference delegates to witness the goings-on ina police station in a black township on a Sunday after-noon. Here Audrey describes her involvement in an in-formal talk with the editor., On Friday night, the day after conference began, I wasdining in a restaurant when I received a call from MollyBlackburn to come immediately to attend to a seriousmatter.Molly had a highly-respected member of Uitenhage'sKwanobuhle black township with her. He had just beenreleased from Port Elizabeth's Rooihell prison where hehad been charged with public violence. He was ex-tremely upset by his experiences in prison. He had seenas many as 100 children in prison. They were beingabused, mainly by older prisoners and had complainedto him that they were very scared.The next morning at conference we decided on a planof action that included -* having an interview with the magistrate* making contact with bodies such as Namda, Masa* arranging an interdict to get the children released* drawing up a national memorandum about policeconduct in the Eastern Cape.Mary Burton, Sheena Duncan and I were appointed tosee the magistrate. That afternoon we went to the LawCourts to meet PE's chief magistrate, the chief magis-trate of Uitenhage, his assistant, the captain of theprison and four advocates whom we knew.We put to them what we had heard was happening tochildren in prison. They did not deny that there werechildren in the cells, nor that they were very young. Themagistrate said, however, that the abuse was impossible.He had visited the prison the day before and no one hadcomplained. Moreover, the captain said that childrenwere kept completely separately in cells away fromadults. They did not agree, as we suggested, that thechildren may have been too afraid to complain to eitherof these white officials.The only success we had was in getting permission forparents to visit their children - if we could find the pa-rents.We returned to conference and the man from theKwanobuhle community went to try to contact the pa-rents. He promised to phone us on Sunday at lunch time.That call on Sunday was another urgent call for help.He asked us to come to Uitenhage immediately asanother group of parents feared for the safety of theirchildren.It was decided that nine delegates should leave confer-ence to go with Molly to Uitenhage. We met the parentsoutside the Post Office. They had a list of names of ninechildren who had been arrested. We went to what wethought was the charge office to try to locate the chil-dren. The officer in charge told us that we should go tothe building next door.We went out of that building, through a gate in thegrounds to the building next door. The parents werewith us. We came to a double door, Molly knocked andwalked in. I was right behind her. I heard her shout"Good God, what is happening here?"There in front of us was a black man in plain clotheswith a long quirt in his hand. He had just brought it downon a young man lying on the floor, manacled to the leg ofa table. His hands were manacled behind him and he waslying awkwardly with his head askew against the leg ofthe table. Blood was running down the side of his faceand his lip was severely bruised. He seemed to be ingreat pain. -The man assaulting him immediately ran out of theroom. I looked around and saw another man sitting be-hind a desk eating. He went on eating throughout the en-tire episode while we were there.We asked the young man on the floor whether he'dbeen charged and for what. He said he hadn't beencharged with anything. His name was Norman Kona.Just then a white sergeant came into the room, also dres-sed in plain clothes. He identified himself as SergeantNet. He showed no surprise at the fact that someone waslying manacled to the table, bleeding. He shouted at usto get out of the room. Molly refused, demanding to seethe station commander. The man refused to fetch himand an argument raged.I then spoke to three men sitting on a bench. They toohad not been charged. They had been arrested early thatmorning and said they had all been assaulted. I decidedto phone the magistrate so that he could see what wasgoing on. He agreed to come but said that it was out ofhis jurisdiction to do so.Back in the charge office, Molly, Di and the othershad discovered that the names of the four young menhad not even been entered in the charge book, nor werethe police able to establish who was responsible for thefour men.At this point the magistrate, a Mr Groenewald, ar-rived. He immediately told the police that he knew hehad no right to be there. He also assured us that therewas no way he could do anything about the situation be-cause it was out of his jurisdiction. He did not ask to seethe young man who was assaulted and in fact decided towait in a separate room away from us while we waited forthe colonel to come.In the meantime Molly had been arguing withSergeant Net. He decided to avoid the whole issue byTHE BLACK SASH - May 1985 25

Page 22 of 38 taking the four young men away. Molly followed them tothe police cells.Then another white policeman came into the roomwhere the rest of us were still waiting. He came in to pickup a Rl rifle that was lying abandoned on the desk. Hereeked of liquor. As he picked up the rifle he dropped amagazine of bullets, just missing Gill de Vlieg's toes. Hetoo started shouting at us, demanding to know what wewere doing there.A few minutes later Colonel Pretorius arrived. He ag-roced t( 'do something about' the reeking sergeant andh en t )ok all nine of us plus the parents to his office.There, one of the parents, a Mr M, spoke of the troubleshe was having. He said that if it hadn't been for the BlackSash he would not have been in a position to explain tothe colonel about all the things that were happening tofamilies.Mr M's eldest son was in the North End Prison inPort Elizabeth. His second son, had been let out on bailafter being charged with public violence, but when hewent to report to the police as he had to daily, he was re-detained. That was the last Mr M had seen of him untilhe had word that his son was being assaulted.We told the colonel what we had seen that afternoon.He agreed to come to the cells with us to find the fouryoung men. On our way we stopped at the charge officewhere the colonel spoke to someone. Just after that themagistrate left. He never explained why he was going orthat he was satisfied that the young people were okay.Neither did he ask to see them to assure himself that theywere alright.When we got to the cells Molly went in with the colonel.Molly came out and told us that the four men we werelooking for were not there.We took Colonel Pretorius to the charge office wherewe had witnessed the assault and showed him the bloodon the floor.we should dare to question what was happening in apolice station.After we got back to Johannesburg, Molly Blackburnphoned to tell us that Norman Kona had come to theBlack Sash to make a statement. He had actually beenreleased at I 1 on Sunday night. He had been in a roomnear where we had consulted with Colonel Pretorius. Sowhen we were told the young men had been taken away,this was a total lie. Norman had been taken across theroad to a doctor. He was returned to the officers whomade him sign a statement in which he had had to swearthat he would not claim damages for assault against anyof the officers otherwise he would not have been re-leased.We came away from our national conference in PortElizabeth with a very real sense that the Eastern Capewas in total crisis. When Thursday dawned, the day ofthe massacre, we were not surprised. We had come torealise from our experiences that police were capable ofthis type of action. IPolice conduct:A nationalmemorandumConference decided to collect affidavits for amemorandum on police conduct in the townships.Joyce Harris was one of the people involved in this work.In the memorandum she concludes:`There are too many corroborating affidavits for any-one to believe that the police are blameless in helping tocreate conditions in the Eastern Cape which led to the dis-aster on March 21.In the first place they must administer and enforce un-popular laws. In the second place they are an arm of gov-ernment, and could not operate in the manner they dowithout its tacit consent. This must be assumed unlessthere are strong indications from those in authority thatsuch behaviour is considered totally reprehensible,We were amazed by the attitude of these officers. At no through the takingof firm and visible action against thosetime did they ask to see the man who had assaulted the in the police forceresponsible for such behaviour.young man. They told us that they could not find the To date such actionhas been conspicuous by its ab-young men. Their movement into or out of the police sence.cells had not been recorded. The officers were upper- In the meanwhile thetype of mindless brutality in-turbed by this. dinged in by members of the police force in the EasternCape can only destroy their own moral fibre, in additionto fostering feelings of anger, frustration and hatred in theblack community. The end result is really "too terrible tocontemplate".'Below is an extract from an affidavit that illustratesthe kind of `mindless brutality' that members of thepolice force have 'indulged' in . . .Some of our party went to the hospital to look for themen. After half an hour we returned to the police stationwhere we were told that the young men had been takenaway in a van and the police would not be able to contactthe van as it had no radio. We never found the men andeventually left the police station.For us, the whole episode was breathtaking. Therewas not even a pretence of bringing wrong-doers to=b k. There was a latent e rise of violence - iceing in and out with guns . They seemed angrpyotlhat26 THE BLACK SASH - May 1985Affidavit by Norman Kona. . . I went to the charge office in Uitenhage at10.30 am on Sunday, March 17 to sign the bail book.A policeman whose name I don't know but whom I

Page 23 of 38 would recongise, took me by the back of my shirt col-lar and took me to the CID room and left me to sitthere until about 11 o'clock. Two CID officials werewatching me. My sister who had come with me to theoffice had been sent away. Then another three offi-cials came in. One of these is known to me as MrSi manga and he took me away and hit me with his fistson our way to a police van.They left me locked in the van in the yard. Aftersome time he (Mr Simanga) took me back to theroom, kicking me again. He and Mr Sanophephawere there. Mr Simanga handcuffed my hands behindmy back very tightly so that my wrists were cut. Thenhe hit me with a broomstick on my head and face untilthe broomstick broke in pieces. That is how I havethese cuts on my forehead, face and neck. MrSanophepha was watching.Afterward they brought other people in from thevan. I know the other people by sight but not theirnames. Mr Simanga started to hit me with a yellowsjambok. Then he put the whip down and theypushed me with my back against the wall and kickedme in the stomach. Then another official (a shortman) joined Mr Simanga and kicked me. Then MrSimanga told me to sit against the leg of the table andpulled me so I was right up against the table leg.Somehow I found I was handcuffed to the table leg.The short man stamped on my hands (still handcuf-fed) and Mr Simanga stood on my thighs, and thenthe short man kicked my face and neck. I was lying onthe floor beside the table and one of them jumped onmy stomach and the short man stood on my neck. MrSimanga went away and the short man took the yel-low sjambok and began hitting me with it while I wasstill lying on the floor handcuffed to the table.The door opened and I saw Mrs Molly Blackburn,Mr Geoffrey Blaauw and several other ladies. Thenthe short CID man ran out with the sjambok.1And, at the end of the section on affidavits aboutchildren the memorandum reaches the followingconclusion:`An extraordinary picture emerges of children beingshot at quite indiscriminately - just in passing as itwere- and then being removed to doctors' consultingrooms and taken to hospital where they are arrested ondischarge if they have been shot. It is apparently acrime to be shot by the police. Many are charged withpublic violence, but where should that charge be laid?'An example of this:Affidavit 17, from RM of Kwanobuhle. . . On Tuesday, January 29 1985, I was at my work.N (aged 12 years) often accompanies me to work andat about 2 pm I asked her to go to a shop in a backyardto get cool drink. She did not get it there and had to gofurther to Mphilisi Stores. When I saw the time waspassing and she had not returned, I sent an older girlto look for her. . . She met N coming back from theshop carrying the cool drink. They were walking to-gether when N was shot... When I arrived at thesurgery, I was told the child had been picked up by thepolice... At the (provincial) hospital we saw thechild waiting for treatment. She had been shot in herleft shoulder, an arm, beneath her left breast and inher eyes. She had been unconscious, but at this timeshe was crying and saying that her body and her headwere aching... We signed consent papers for an op-eration . . . .NOTE: Copies of the national memorandum on policeconduct are available from the Johannesburg Black Sashoffice at 11 per copyA Uitenhage father, asks members of the Black Sash to help him find his twosons, arrested by the police- at left is DiBishop, with Audrey Coleman looking on. photo: Gill de VliegTHE BLACK SASH-May 1985 27

Page 24 of 38 Whit theysaid about it was a terribleferencP in a way be-cause we came toconference realise that we are atwar.Audrey Coleman:Molly Blackburn:It was an act of God that youwere all here at the time becauseI don't know what we wouldhave done without you.Matthew Goniwe asked to be-come a member of the BlackSash!Founder members Noel Robb (left) and Moira Henderson (Cape Town) andJeanette Davidoff (right,Johannesburg), in combination said: `Conference was quite different to anyother. It was held at atime when history in South Africa was at the crossroads. We became involvedin the unrest of thecommunity around us - much more realistic than sitting around listening toacademic discussion,although, Jeanette adds, the younger members who made their first bowpresented excellent papers:And all the delegates demonstrated amazing alacrity in responding to thecommunity.'South African Journal on Human RightsThe Centre for Applied Legal Studies in conjunc-tion with Lawyers for Human Rights has pub-lished a new journal.It aims to inform about the state of human rightsin South Africa, and to provide a forum for anexhange of ideas affecting justice in South Africa.The Journal will endeavour to strike a balance bet-ween a high quality legal periodical and a magazinefor human rights proponents in search of informa-tion and advice. It will include articles, case notes,comments, book reviews and an index on recenthuman rights issues.Edited by Geoff Budlender, John Dugard,Nicholas Haysom,Gilbert Marcus, Christina Murrayand Johan van der Vyver assisted by a countrywideeditorial board of human rights lawyers.Details of subscriptions are available from South.African Journal on Human Rights, Ravan PressP O Box 31134, Braamfontein 2017.28 THE BLACK SASH - May 1985

Page 25 of 38 What did the Black Sashdo in 1984?MARION SPIES of the Pretoria branch summarisesthe many and varied activities in which the Sash,with all its regions, has been involved over the pastyear.MarionPolitical events provide a frame of referencefor Sash workThe referendum dominated Sash activities in 1984.This was in line with a suggestion of Joyce Harris'that political events should provide a frame of referencefor Sash work.The eruption of violence after the August electionshas since become a feature of township life. Over 130people are known to have died and well over 1 000 in-jured. The full list may never be known.Telegrams were sent to Rev A Hendrikse, House ofRepresentatives, and Mr A Rajbansee and Mr J NReddy, House of Delegates drawing attention to the de-tentions of persons legitimately opposing the tricameralparliament. The telegrams called on members not totake their seats unless the detainees were uncondition-ally released. No replies were received.Sash concern with increasing violenceThroughout 1984 the Black Sash consistently con-demned the growing militarisation and the use of armedforce against civilians. During conference Sheena Dun-can reiterated her total opposition to the use of violenceto achieve change as it inevitably creates new violence.As a civil rights organisation. Black Sash, which is com-mitted to peaceful change, agonizes over the year'sevents.The unrest in the Albany area, which has receivedscant publicity, has created a tense atmosphere. Duringthe arson and violence at New Year, which was mainlyaimed at symbolic institutions such as the administrationbuilding and beer halls, other organisations likechurches and schools suffered and the advice office wascompletely gutted.The Port Elizabeth advice office suffered a series ofdamages causing the flat dwellers above the office inRussel Road to draw up a petition at the beginning ofJune for the eviction of the Black Sash. The premiseswere vacated a week later because of a fire which startedwhen a burning tyre was pushed against the door of theadvice office.The national presidentDuring 1984 Sheena Duncan travelled to Sweden, Ger-many and Holland, giving a total of 46 talks on her briefoverseas visits and at least as many talks in South Africa.During her extensive travels here she has conductedworkshops on pensions and advice office in numerouscentres. She has established the principle that advice of-fices should be educative so that through knowledgepeople may learn to solve their own problems.MeetingsA feature of each region has been the important roleplayed by regular meetings. The wide variety of topicsranging from such intellectual concepts as `Strategies ofprotest' to the nitty-gritty of `Gang warfare', reflect thedeep humanitarian concerns of Sash. Meetings haveproved to be valuable sources of education and informa-tion, particularly as the majority of speakers have setsuch high standards.Co-operation with other organizationsUnited Democratic Front (UDF)Mr Molefe, general secretary of the UDF, welcomed theSash proposal arising from the 1984 conference, to seekco-operation and observer status with UDF, as well asco-operation in various campaigns.Sash was commended for challenging the evil systemof removals and pass laws. Various regions have kept inclose contact with UDF. Members of Sash, UDF andother organizations served on a `Committee AgainstRepression' (CAR), producing a booklet `Repression ina time of reform'.Other GroupsSash is represented on the Conscientious Objectors Sup-port Group (COSG) and has worked closely throughoutthe year with the Detainee Parent Support Committee(DPSC) and Detainee Support Committee (Descom).There has also been co-operation with the Institute ofRace Relations, Human Awareness Programme, theLegal Resources Centre, Lawyers for Human Rights,National Council for Women and Women for Peace, theSouth African Council of Churches (SACC) and theSouth African Bishops Conference.Other committees and organisations that Sash hasworked with are the National Union of South AfricanStudents (NUSAS), Association for Rural Advance-ment (AFRA), Diakonia, Hambanati Crisis Commit-tee, National Organisation of Women, Catholic DioceseJustice and Peace Commission, Winterveld ActionCommittee and the Domestic Workers Think Tank.THE BLACK SASH - May 1985 29

Page 26 of 38 Contact was made with many visitors from all over theworld who make a point of visiting the advice offices,and often come to see Sheena who has gained interna-tional recognition.Faced with the difficulties of internal dissention anddetention of members, the Constitution Group has con-tinued to meet at the home of Joyce Harris. With tactand tenacity, Joyce, as national vice president andTransvaal regional chairman, has managed to maintain abalance in the current atmosphere of hostilities. Hernumerous articles and letters to the press haveeloquently articulated Black Sash policy.Unsung heroineMerle Beetge, a member of Sash in the Transvaal,gained national recognition when the Star declared her`Unsung heroine of the year 1984'. She received thisacclaim for her work monitoring pensions in Grasmere.RemovalsAll the regions are involved in the issue of removals.Continuous publicity has kept the issue of removals inthe news so as to arouse public awareness. Articles andphotographs dealt with Khayelitsha, Driefontein, Mg-wali and Magopa while TRAC, the Grahamstown reset-tlement committee and AFRA circulated regular news-letters on removals. The map on removals was also up-dated.In June Sash participated in a national focus onKhayelitsha and other areas organised by SACC. TheTransvaal focussed attention on Kwa Ngema.Beulah Rollnick conducted workshops on the PassLaws for the people of Leandra and Brits. One was givenat her home after Sash members were threatened witharrest outside Leandra.JusticeJustice is an ever present concern of Sash. The report ofthe Hoexter Commission in April drew attention to thediscrepancy in standards of justice between the Commis-sioners and Magistrates Courts. The report recom-mended that jurisdiction over pass offenders be transfer-red from the Department of Co-operation and Develop-ment to the Department of Justice. This was im-plemented in September.Sash court monitors noticed an immediate decline inthe number of offenders brought to court. A similar ten-dency occurred in curfew cases. Sash welcomes these im-provements, but maintains there is no just way of ad-ministering unjust laws. Sash has always advocated theabolition of influx control, which was also recommendedby the Hoexter Commission.The DPSC estimated that the detention toll rose to itshighest level at 1149 in 1984.Detainee Abel Dube was eventually released aftertwo years in detention, but was banished to Messina.The DPSC has received reports that politically activepersons have been banished to the homelands as prohi-bited immigrants.Throughout the year Sash members continued to at-tend political trials. The Black Sash having mounted theoriginal demonstrations and protests when Steve Bikowas killed, our members were present in Court this yearwhen six individual doctors successfully brought a sup-30 THE BLACK SASH-May 1985reme court application to compel the Medical and Den-tal Council to enquire further into the conduct of theBiko doctors.End Conscription Campaign (ECC)Sash members were circularised on the conference resol-ution on conscription and of the official launching of theECC campaign in October. Whole-hearted support hasnot been obtained from all members, but an educativeprogramme is under way and public awareness has beenaroused. Stands in support of the campagin have re-ceived some positive response from the public. The Sec-urity Branch raided meetings in Durban and the West-ern Cape, but did not deter the participants. Cape West-ern is deeply involved in the campaign. Conferenceheard a special report on their activities.Stands and demonstrationsSash members continued to use this method to drawpublic attention to issues of grave concern.TransvaalIn June a demonstration in support of the ECC cam-paign on Namibia was held. There was a fair amount ofpublic support.On August 27 a demonstration was organised in sup-port of the church focus on forced removals. The posterscovered a wider field than forced removals.On November 29 a demonstration against the spate ofdetentions was also supported by Wits SRC, individualPFP members, the UDF, JODAC (JohannesburgDemocratic Action Committee) and the Churches. TwoRabbis held prayer meetings. Proceedings commencedwith a lunch-time prayer vigil at St Mary's Cathedral.The street demonstration started at 4 pm. Within mi-nutes the police had arrested several demonstrators andconfiscated their posters. In the end no charges werepressed on the total number of 36 arrested. Howevershould a court case arise it will provide an opportunity totest the right to demonstrate.Natal CoastalStands were held preceding both elections for the newconstitution. Following the new tricameral parliament'sinaugration, picket stands were held to mourn the con-stitution.Natal MidlandsIn November a protest against detention took place inthe Cathedral grounds at three different places. Otherorganisations joined in taking turns to hold placards.Every 15 minutes the Cathedral bells rang. The SpecialBranch took photographs and noted car numbers but theprotest went without incident.Cape EasternIn November a protest was held in conjunction withSACC, DPSC, UDF and others. It was backed by pressstatements and church services. Calls were issued fornegotiations between black leaders and the government,the release of all detainees and full participation byblacks in the political system.Cape WesternThe western Cape had ten poster stands at regular inter-

Page 27 of 38 vals throughout the year. Posters dealt with a wide rangeof political issues, including a commemoration of Shar-peville and Womens Day.Cornelia Bullen-Smith also courageously held herown stands with photographs to draw attention to theplight of people in the western Cape.PublicationsA new teaching booklet by Sheena Duncan, You andyour State Pension was published in English and Xhosa.Another in this series, You and Khayelitsha was pub-lished by Cape Western in August. It is now beingprinted in Xhosa.The conference booklet was edited by the PretoriaBranch and Cape Western helped publish the confer-ence report.Two important articles on influx control appeared,one in Acta Juridica and the other in Leadership Essays,a businessman's journal.Sheena Duncan wrote an information pamphlet`Rents and Service Charges' (on legal restrictions andraising rents in townships).Throughout the year the Transvaal Rural ActionCommittee brought out newsletters on removals. Thefirst was an introduction to TRAC and the 'TransvaalOverview'. Other pamphlets were `The Myth of Volun-tary Removals', `Kwa Ngema', `Valspan' and`Mathopestad'. rno v i:o king papers were also written on- iolent act and other subjects.Cape Western published a leaflet on `Don't ban ourleaders', with a reprint of the Trevor Manuel articlefrom the Financial Mail. They also put out `Cancel thecall-up' stickers.CircularsSince last conference, headquarters have sent out 13 cir-culars which have been invaluable in maintaining astrong network between regions, as well as conveying in-formation, stating policy decisions and generating sup-port. Various branches have also circularised newslet-ters to members.Press statements and publicityAll regions have made frequent and regular use of thePress to comment on current events through articles,statements and letters. Enid Robertson compiled a listof all Black Sash publicity throughout the year which re-flected 140 mentions in the Press which included somecoverage in the overseas Press.MembershipIn 1984 the combined paid-up membership of all theBlack Sash regions together came to 1 353. Of these reg-ions, Transvaal had the most members with 658, CapeWestern 400, Natal Coastal 117, Natal Midlands 78 andthe other regions each under 40.In June Gita Dyzenhaus lost her long and courageousbattle against ill-health. At various times she held the of-fices of national vice-president, Transvaal chair andmagazine editor. She was always a staunch, loving friendof Black Sash. She is greatly missed.Fund raisingTransvaal raised R27 402 at the November morningmarket, which was not as much as the previous year,probably due to the state of the economy; Pretoria had abridge drive in September which brought in over 8400;Natal Coastal raised RI 409 at a cheese and wine cumtheatre evening. Two successful book sales brought in8360; Cape Eastern ran an unusually profitable cakesale in November which raised well over 8200; CapeWestern held a successful morning market as well as aboutique and fashion show.Conference at workStatement fromNatal Coastale believe that the February 1985 issue of SASH,which provides major coverage of the work andattitudes of Mr John Kane-Berman and Prof Law-rence Schlemmer, read together with the November1984 SASH editorial, which, expressly supports theiropinions, implies that the general membership ofBlack Sash adheres to their views.We totally reject this implication and disassociateourselves from the impression created that we, asBlack Sash members, support such attitudes.Whereas Mr Kane-Berman and Prof Schlemmergive active support to Chief Buthelezi, the KwaZulugovernment and Inkatha, the Black Sash is frequentlyin opposition to them. The 1984 Black Sash Confer-ence passed a statement expressing alarm at develop-ments in KwaZulu and condemning the violence, rep-ression and mal-administration taking place there.Natal Coastal Region of the Black Sash has activelysupported Lamontville and Hambanati residents intheir struggle against incorporation into KwaZuluand against the brutal activities of Inkatha in thesetownships. Prof Schlemmer , on the other hand con-ducted an insubstantial and now discredited surveywhich was used by Chief Buthelezi to campaign for in-corporation.We believe that the Black Sash is in fact very criti-cal of many of the structures which Mr Kane-Bermanand Prof Schlemmer seek to uphold and that it washighly misleading that our magazine should have re-flected their views to the predominating extent that itdid.The majority of members supported the statement,.which was presented at a general meeting of NatalCoastal on May 25.THE SLACK SASH - May 1985 31

Page 28 of 38 'Voluntary'removalsa laViijoenThe people of Mathopestad are going to move, saysDr Gerrit Viljoen. Yet in February he told the outsideworld that the policy of forced removals was underreview. Communities will only be moved if theyarewilling, he said. In the case of Kwa Ngema, Viljoenappointed a 'leader' who is prepared to do that.How's he going to wangle it in MathopestadTAccording to Black Sash information he's tryingto organise a 'voluntary'removal of tenants, squat-ters and others to justify a forced removal of thepeople who actually own the ground. ETHEL WALTexplains.n February 1 Dr Gerrit Viljoen told foreign corres-pondents that all forced removals would be sus-pended pending a review of the whole resettlement pol-icy. The euphoria which greeted this announcementproved to be short-lived.On April 9, in reply to a question by Mr Peter Soal, DrViljoen stated that Mathopestad would be removed `inconsultation with the residents because it is in the in-terests of all parties concerned.' No policy review, just acasual reply to a question.No change, except perhaps in the rhetoric.It was Dr Viljoen, of course, who claimed that theMogopa removal was a `negotiated' one, blandly glos-sing over the armed police and bulldozers.In Mathopestad itself, heavy pressure is being put onthe people to agree to move. Every effort has been madeto win over John Mathope (the uncle and adviser toyoung Chief Solomon Mathope). He's had an invitationfrom the magistrates of Korsten and Rustenburg to`come and have a drink'. He has politely but adamantlyrefused these blandishments, as well as invitations to goand see Onderstepoort, the resettlement area near toSun City.On March 11 a truck belonging to a neighbouringfarmer, Mr C Bothma, was driven into Mathopestad tocollect people willing to go and see Onderstepoort. Only29 people, all of them tenants or people given refuge atMathopestad, agreed to go. They were driven to nearbyBoons station where they were met by Cooperation andDevelopment officials and transferred to the waitingbus. One of the residents collaborating in the removalhas since collected names of people said to be willing tomove. However, many of those enumerated claimed32 THE BLACK SASH- May 1985subsequently that their names were included withouttheir consent.These names were conveyed to the deputy minister,Mr Wilkens, and on April 18 the SABC news announcedthat a large number of the Mathopestad people had ex-pressed their satisfaction with the new place and agreedto go.In response to this, Chief Solomon and the six head-men called a Kgotla meeting to gauge the feeling of thecommunity. The meeting was scheduled for 9 am onApril 20. Both magistrates of Korsten and Rustenburgwere invited to attend.At 6 am on the same morning four buses arrived tocollect people to go and see Onderstepoort. Renewedefforts were made to persuade John Mathope and theheadmen to board the buses. They again refused butabout 150 people agreed to go. Most of them were ten-ants, temporary residents, some school children, and, itis alleged, workers brought in from surrounding farms.At the tribal meeting, it was stressed that while ten-ants were welcome to remain at Mathopestad, they wereunder no pressure to do so. Those who wished to remainwere asked to sign a petition to that effect, and residentsunable to be at the meeting were to be canvassed later.How much influence will this have on governmentpolicy, which is elastic enough to adapt to all cir-cumstances? Dr Viljoen has pledged to move black com-munities only `if the leaders agreed'. In Kwa Ngemawhere the residents are solidly resisting removal, a com-pliant chief has been appointed as `leader' and the gov-ernment will negotiate only with him. But at Mathopes-tad, the leaders are angrily referred to as `stubborn oldmen' and the removal is to go ahead `in consultation withthe residents'. It is a no-win situation, except for the gov-ernment.Chief John Mathope signs against the removal fromMathopestad photo: Gill de Vlieg

Page 29 of 38 This year the Black Sash will observe its 30th anniver-sary.It was May 19, 1955 that six women met together inJohannesburg in anger about the introduction of the Se-nate Bill in Parliament.As you know, it was that legislation which packed theSenate with sufficient members of the National Party toenable the government in the following year to removecoloured people from the common voter's roll.The energy of those women is quite astonishing as isthe speed with which they acted. The next day hundredsof women came together and addressed a petition to themayor requesting him to call a public meeting.On May 25, 1955, 2 000 women marched to the CityHall to join 18 000 Johannesburg citizens who hadgathered there to protest against the Senate Bill. TheWomen's Defence of the Constitution League had comeinto being.It was then decided that two petitions should be drawnup, one to the Prime Minister calling on him to repealthe legislation or to resign, the other to the GovernorGeneral asking him to withold his assent from the Act.Women, working in continuous shifts over the weekendof June 4, 5 and 6 dispatched petition forms all over thecountry.More than 100 000 women signed the two petitionswithin the next ten days. The petition to the GovernorGeneral was handed to his secretary with 94 680 signa-tures. The Prime Minister refused to receive a delega-tion from the League. On June 28, over 1 000 womenrepresenting dozens of cities, towns and villages in SouthAfrica marched to the Union buildings in Pretoria tohand over the petition to the Prime Minister calling forhis resignation. for 48 hours, in the bitterly cold high-veld winter, 80 women held vigil at the Union Buildings.Those were the days when freedom of assembly stillexisted in this country. In the 30 years which have goneby since that time, this right to come together in protesthas been taken away piece by piece beginning with bansimposed on gatherings in the central city of Johannes-burg and in a large area around Parliament in CapeTown, to the present total ban on all outdoor gatheringswhich has been in force since 1976.National conference 1985PresidentialaddressSheena DuncanA gathering is defined as more than one person com-ing together, so for the past eight years Black Sash de-monstrations have been one woman standing alone withher poster, out of sight of the next person. Even this isnow under threat from the police. In November last yearin a combined protest with Churches, DPSC and otherorganisations calling for the release of detainees, de-monstrators were arrested in a massive police action assoon as they took up positions. Posters were confiscated,charges laid and a long-drawn-out investigation is appa-rently being conducted by the police.It is my belief that this ban on outdoor gatherings to-gether with the frequent temporary bans on indoorgatherings and on funerals must be held largely responsi-ble for the chaos which is now the way of life in manyblack townships. People who have come together in or-derly fashion to picket polling booths in the August elec-tions, to demand negotiation with town councillors andDevelopment Board officials about rents, or with De-partment of Education and Training officials aboutabuses in the intolerable Bantu education system, or tobury their dead, have been ordered to disperse and whenthey failed to do so, have been forced to scatter in confu-sion by the use of tear gas, rubber bullets, bird and buckshot. Orderly organised protest and non-violent resis-tance is prevented. When the authorities also abuse thewide powers given to them and resort to removing lead-ers by detaining them for 48 hours, or indefinitely, it isnot surprising that planned disciplined non-violent resis-tance in the form of boycotts by students, boycotts byconsumers, withdrawal of labour by workers, witholdingof rent by householders, become disorganised with dis-organiSed violence cropping up in all directions. It isonly a short step from that to organised and coercive vio-lence, the evidence of which is now appearing in someplaces. It is inevitable that this should be so when theState uses its whole repressive machinery to preventgrievances from being expressed, to prevent demandsfrom being laid on the negotiating table, to prevent or-ganisation from taking place: to insist that control by thefew over the many continues.One of the issues we will be discussing at this confer-ence is the way in which the State is laying criminalcharges against those who oppose the government'spolicies thus keeping them in prison as awaiting trialTHE BLACK SASH - May 1985 1

Page 30 of 38 Members of the Black Sash countrywide lined the railings of the Houses ofParliament, Cape Town, in a continuous vigil.photo: `The Black Sash' by Mirabel Rogersprisoners for lengthy periods or immobilising them bymaking issues subjudice and thus not open for discus-sion. Very often, charges are withdrawn at the last mi-nute or the prosecution does not go ahead. The recentnon-trial of Archbishop Hurley is just one example.I ask you all tonight to remember Madoda Jacobs, theyoung leader of the Cradock Youth Organisation whowas head boy of his school. He was held in preventivedetention last year and is now a "listed" person. He is atpresent being held as an awaiting trial prisoner on acharge of murder at the Mortimer police station milesand miles from anywhere.Also very much in our thoughts are the leaders of theUDF now awaiting trial for treason. Many of them areour personal friends. All of them are highly respected.Those days when the Black Sash began were very dif-ferent. South Africa was certainly not a democracy butthe Rule of Law did mean something and people couldand did look to the Courts for protection. Last year Ispoke about those old fashioned people in areasthreatened with removal who cannot understand thatthe law is not a protection anymore. They are all middle -aged to elderly. Young people in this country do not un-derstand the concept. They have never known it andhave never lived under the protection of the Rule ofLaw. For them, the law has always been a threat. Athreat because it denies them the fundamental humanrights.I do not wish to spend time this evening going into thedetails of security legislation but do wish to say that oneof the most urgent matters on the national agendashould be the restoration of the Rule of Law. Today'syoung people are tomorrow's government and it will bevery bad if the injustices embodied in our law are to con-tinue into yet another era and used for preservation ofyet another government in power. There are already toomany signs of coercion and cooptation of people into op-position strategies. These give cause for disquietude andanxiety. There is no time to be lost if we are to de-monstrate what democracy really means.The values which are embodied in the phrase `Rule of2 THE BLACK SASH-MAY 1985Law' are lost to us because they have not been practisedfor so long. We need to restore them now in order to pre-serve them into the future.It is a disaster that President Botha's `reform' prog-ramme has been marked by ever greater repression andthat there are no signs whatsoever that he intends to re-peal any of the repressive laws - quite the opposite infact. 1982 saw several new laws placed on the statutebook which prevent many of the legitimate activities ofopposition groups- the Protection of Information Act,the Prohibition of Demonstrations in or near CourtBuildings Act and, of course, the omnibus Internal Sec-urity Act.The Women's Defence of the Constitution League heldits first National Conference in Bloemfontein in April1956. It was at that conference that the nickname given usby the press `The Black Sash' was adopted as the officialname of the organisation.It was also at that conference that one JeanetteDavidoff was elected to the central committee. Netty isstill very much with us. She is here tonight as one of theTransvaal delegates to this conference. In 1955 she waschairman of the education sub-committee whose task itwas to inform and educate our own members as well asthe wider public. Another one of those early stalwartswho is here as a delegate from Cape Town is Noel Robb.Her task used to be to support and look after the countrybranches in the western Cape. The two of them shouldreally be up here talking to you about those first years.Some of you in this hall tonight were among those whobegan it and we salute you.I was not around then but it has been very instructivefor me to page through the early minute books to seewhat issues were engaging the Black Sash's attention atthat time.Many women had joined in outrage at what was calledthe `rape of the constitution'. They had never beforethought about justice in race relations or been brought toface the political consequences of the nature of South Af-rican society.

Page 31 of 38 In the Cape itself we find the same uncertainty. In mi-nutes dated October 14, 1957 we find the followingentry:`An official protest was handed in by Mrs H. A state-ment in the paper advertising a series of lectures hadappeared with the words "open to all races". She feltthis was provocative.'One argument which is a little more familiar and notso far in our distant past is outlined in this September 301957 minute in Cape Town after a request for support forstriking members from the Council for Canning Work-ers:`. . . agreed that a reply should be sent-stressing thatwe only concern ourselves with moral issues and notindustrial disputes.'This anxiety about what was or was not a moral issuecrops up over and over again, very often related to re-lationships with the then official opposition, the UnitedParty. The non-party political stance of the Black Sashhas always been maintained but in those days when therewas still a hope nurtured that the National Party mightbe defeated at the polls, it was a constant concern not toweaken the opposition while maintaining a principledpublic protest. One member in Cape Town is recordedin the minutes of September 19 as saying:`As far as Kei Road was concerned, the quieter theSash kept at the moment the better. It must not beseen or implied that the Sash supports the progres-sives.' She was evidently in a minority.Sometimes these debates sound very strange to usnow. On August 12 1959 we read:`Mrs Stott had been asked to enquire whether atomicfall-out in the Cape Province was not dangerous. MrsStott wonders whether the subject of atomic bombs isa moral issue for the Sash or not.'Eulalie Stott is still one of our most active and valuedmembers in Cape Town.In many ways we have not changed at all. I'm glad ouroffices remain untidy places with second-hand furni-ture and limited equipment. We have not erected bar-riers of technology and the paraphernalia of modern of-fice furnishings between us' and those who come to seekour help.Allegations against the Black Sash remain much thesame now as they were then. In 1959, `loose allegationsof incitement levelled at Sash' were discussed at a Capecouncil meeting. Only last year a member of the CapeProvincial Council accused us of creeping around theblack areas at night and being always present wherethere was trouble.Perhaps these accusations are not framed so quaintly.as they used to be.Before this was prohibited, Black Sash women used tohold vigil in the public gallery of the House of Assembly:They were rebuked by a National Party whip who toldthem:`You ladies must not come to Parliament to propa-gate.'But the issues which concerned us then are astonish-ingly the same as those which occupy us now - the passlaws and pass law arrests, Group Area removals,academic freedom, freedom of the press, freedom ofmovement, SABC propaganda, race classification, farmlabour, support for the families of detainees and how wecan co-operate with organisations in this and in protestagainst all detentions and bannings.Passive resistance and support for those entering intocivil disobedience was an issue then as it is now. TheBlack Sash support for the A N C and for Chief Luthuliin those long ago days caused the same debates as hasour support for the U D F in the last 18 months. Protestagainst the banning of Chief Luthuli was aswholehearted then as is our protest now about actiontaken against U D F and other leaders. Economicboycotts were very much an issue as they are now.In August 1959 we were saying:`In the history of South Africa the white man has sofrequently broken his word that promises should notbe broken now without the Africans, to whom theywere made, approving of the step.'The list of broken promises has lengthened immeasur-ably in the 26 years since that statement was made. Is itreally now coming to an end? There is no evidence ofthat yet.Allegations against the Black Sash remain much thesame now as they were then. But the issues which con-cerned us then are astonishingly the same as thosewhich occupy us now.Some people have suggested that the present govern-ment has deliberately adopted a strategy of sowing con-fusion and uncertainty in order to introduce piecemealreforms. This would be such an incredibly dangerouscourse of action that we cannot believe that any rationalgroup of people could embark on it. The other interpre-tation of current government actions is that it is as con-fused and uncertain as everyone else and is thereforebeing totally inept. Whatever the reason, this countrycannot afford the current total lack of clarity about gov-ernment intentions nor the contradictory statementswhich often follow one another on a daily basis from themouths of the same ministers.Confusion, whether deliberately or carelessly sown, isleading to total chaos and a state of disorderliness in ad-ministration and in daily experience for the majority ofpeople in this country, which will take us nowhere.What does Dr Viljoen's statement about the suspen-sion of removals mean? He did not go as far as Dr Koornhof's previous statement that, `There will be no moreforced removals,' but perhaps the public may be inclinedto give greater weight to what Dr Viljoen says. Whenpressed, he said he supposed that there were about 26black spots and, about the same number of urban com-munities whose position would be reassessed. A littlelater the number of black spots involved was given as 67.We all know that there are 188 black spots in Natal alonewhich are scheduled for removal and well over 200 in thecountry as a whole. What does the minister mean andwhen is he going to say firmly and openly what his inten-tions-are?The urban communities of Huhudi at Vryburg andValspan at Jan Kempdorf are reprieved from the totalremoval but then there is talk about their developmentonly within existing already overcrowded boundaries.What will happen to those who cannot be fitted in?THE BLACK SASH - May 1985 3

Page 32 of 38 I have given up trying to keep track of the various state-ments about Crossroads and Khayelitsha. Who goes andwho stays is anyone's guess.Has government accepted that all the black peoplewho are at present in Cape Town are to be permitted toremain there or does it still intend to get rid of the `illeg-als' by deporting them to those so-called foreign coun-tries, Transkei and Ciskei?If influx control is on its way out and if everyone is tobe allowed to remain where they are, what possiblereason can there be for not saying so? The failure tomake clear statements of intent means that all of us, in-cluding the people concerned, remain distrustful, suspi-cious and very angry indeed.On this most fundamental issue of influx control, weare left in a state of uncertainty. The whole propagandathrust at the moment seems designed to persuade whiteSouth Africans that influx control must go and soon, thatif it does not we will not be able to reduce populationgrowth to a rate commensurate with available natural re-sources, that urbanisation cannot be prevented and musttherefore be managed, that we cannot afford the influxcontrol system anymore. Yet at the same time the minis-ter is announcing proposed amendments to Section 10 ofthe Urban Areas Act to make certain technical adjust-ments and to defuse the anger of urban communities de-stined for incorporation within homeland borders. Sec-tion 10 is the instrument of influx control. This is theclause which says that no black person may remain in anurban area for more than 72 hours unless he or she ful-fills certain conditions. If you are going to lift influx con-trol, you certainly should not be wasting time and moneytinkering around with its provisions. When announcingthese changes the minister stated that no urbanisationlegislation could be expected during this session of Parli-ament. Yet a few days later we are told that a revampedOrderly Movement bill and an Urbanisation bill are onthe cards.Influx control has to go in its entirety and it has to govery soon. The latest economic projections for the year2000 estimate that 44% of South Africa's adult popula-tion will not be able to find employment in the formalsector. This is a fact of life and only freedom of move-ment and rapid urbanisation will allow that 44% to es-cape from hunger and poverty into the informal sector.Unrestricted growth of family enterprises and service in-dustries will give an enormous boost to economic growthand also ensure a more just distribution of wealth.'if everyone now accepts these facts, why go on pre-tending that anything else is possible? What sensiblereason can there be for hesitation and delay?Why should it be taking so long for central businessdistricts to be opened for trading by people of all races?Will they do it or won't they, and how long must we waitto find out?In all the important issues, government displays thesame lack of clarity. Whether it be inept or deliberatedoes not make any difference to the disastrous end re-sult.Dr Viljoen succeeded, in one short statement, in in-flaming the populations of two Transvaal townships,Ekangala and Soshanguve. Soshanguve is a townshipoutside the prescribed area of Pretoria which was estab-lished to accommodate that part of the non-Tswanapopulation of Pretoria which has urban rights. Ekangala4 THE BLACK SASH - May 1985is a new township, very well planned, a model of pleas-ant new town development in many ways, 20kms northof Bronkhorstspruit. Only people with urban rights onthe East Rand qualify to live there. Part of the townshipis set aside for occupation by Ndebele people, the restfor other language groups. Dr Viljoen recently an-nounced that the whole of Ekangala is to be incorpo-rated into KwaNdebele which is soon to become inde-pendent. The people of Soshanguve immediately hadcause to believe persistent rumours that their township isto be incorporated into Bophuthatswana.How can government possibly plan to relocatethousands of South African citizens within the bordersof what is, according to their own laws, a foreign coun-try?What is the difference between citizenship and nation-ality? The government has been making vague noisesabout this since before Ciskei independence in 1981.They should not be surprised that people regard recentgovernment talk about a review of citizenship laws withthe utmost cynicism.At this conference we will be considering the questionwhether Bophuthatswana's Bill of Rights has any valuewhatsoever. The more than a million non-Tswana SouthAfrican citizens who suddenly found themselves resi-dent within the borders of a foreign country at indepen-dence in 1977 are victimised at every turn. They oftendon't get pensions, or permanent residence permits, ortrading licences, or work seekers registration. They arelabelled `squatters' by the Bophuthatswana govern-ment, and the South African government has apparentlywashed its hands of them. There has been talk of inter-government negotiations for years. Nothing happens.Many of these people are being subjected to the mostbrutal repression by the Bophuthatswana police and theBill of Rights does not seem to offer any protection.What price a Bill of Rights guaranteeing freedom ofassembly when the Bophuthatswana government lastyear prohibited all meetings of more than 20 people un-less the permission of the Minister is obtained for alarger meeting to be held?ReformThere is no doubt that the sudden enthusiasm for reformis a result of increasing pressure from the black majorityinside South Africa as well as from the western democ-racies together with the economic crisis into which wehave been brought by many different factors, -not theleast of which has been profligate spending entailed inthe attempt to bring to fruition the policy of apartheid.The dictates of Afrikaner nationalism are no longer apriority. The preservation of the capitalist system is theoverlying concern, now enshrined in our constitution.But you cannot preserve capitalism by continuing toexploit the black majority and continung to deny themall the basic individual freedoms which capitalism claimsto protect.So we suddenly see the business sector in South Africaurging government to reform and to what seem to bequite radical changes in the ordering of society. Wherewere they during all those years when one apartheid lawafter another was placed on the statute book? Their si-lence was deafening.

Page 33 of 38 u~tD ~~'STDP`~~AS ALL7Nr RULES THEOf ArOWE1 AyJCM7.~- SHIPALL"Good heavens! Where've they been for the past thirty years?"When did they speak out against migrant labour, thepass laws, the Group Areas Act, removals, denationali-sation, race classification? We know when they spokeout - when the disinvestment lobby began gettingsomewhere, the US legislation embodying economicsanctions of one kind or another suddenly became a realpossiblity, when black workers got organised and beganmaking demands backed by united action and the powerto strike effectively.We welcome the claims made by employer's organisa-tions in their memorandum to Senator Kennedy inJanuary this year. The Chambers and Federations ofemployers concerned represent more than 80% of theemployment strength of this country. They have beenurged over and over again for the past 37 years to usetheir undoubted power to persuade government to stopremovals, to remove influx control, to retreat from apar-theid. They are doing so now, at last, and we must bethankful for it. They must be held to the commitmentsthey made to Senator Kennedy and to all of us. I quote:`In the national interest they are committed to an on-going programme of legislative reform to give effect tothe following goals:meaningful political participation to blacksfull participation in a private enterprise eco-nomy for all South Africans regardless of race,colour, sex or creedcommon loyalty to the country in all South Afri-cans through a universal citizenshipthe development of a free and independent tradeunion movementthe administration of justice as safe-guarded byttheCourtsan end to the forceful removal of people.'Will they hold to those commitments if the threat of dis-investment and disvestment is removed? They mustprove to us that they would do so.I am surd that most members of the Black Sash wouldagree with me in saying that nothing must be done whichwill cause one more person to lose a job. There is no so-cial security in this country, no safety net to rescue thestarving except what can be inadequately provided byvoluntary welfare organisations. We sit in the advice of-fices all day long, faced with people who literally do notknow where the next meal is to come from and we willnot do one thing to make that situation worse.But, we have some questions to ask of the businesscommunity here - both South African and foreignbusinessmen. The unemployment which exists on solarge a scale now in this country is not a consequence ofThe unemployment which exists on so large a scalenow in this country is not a consequence of disinvest-ment, or economic sanctions. They have not yet beenimposed.disinvestment, divestment or economic sanctions. Theyhave not yet been imposed. We ask those who are mostaudible in their criticisms of the disinvestment and di-vestment lobby overseas:- How many jobs have you destroyed in the lastfive years because you have mechanised?- Did you worry about unemployment when youmerged and relocated and rationalised youroperations?- What have you done about the growing mono-polistic control over industry and commerce,about price fixing, about destruction of com-petition, about squeezing out the small man?- Have we heard your voices raised about the newRegulations relating to the retailing of coalwhich will destroy the small traders, or about themonopolistic controls over road transportationTHE BLACK SASH- May 1985 5

Page 34 of 38 which prevent the self-employed driver fromfinding his survival?,A yous move into agri-business producing what, I amtold, are called in America `non-consumptives' - thatwhich is not food - have you ever wondered about theone and a quarter million people who were dispossessedfrom South African farms in the years between 196() and1980? Do you know what happened to them in the reset-tlement camps where they were dumped? They are notpart of the urban middle class in which your interest hasbeen invested since 1976.We sit in the advice offices all day long, faced withp0 0 it do k.." " eree ple h ) I erally not h' the next mealis to come from and we will not do one thing to makethat situation worse.You have told us that you arc totally opposed to disin-vestment and to divestment because it will cause in-creased unemployment here in South Africa.Then you must answer us as to why South Africanbusinesses have become multinationa'? Why arc you in-vesting in Massachussetts and Britain and elsewhere`?How many jobs could you have created here by bringingthose investments back home`?Iss it true that Anglo American is the second largestforeign investor in the United States?Is is true that a major foreign company recently an-nounced a R40-million investment in a new plant iriSouth Africa which will not create one single new job,and is it true that in the same week that company was lay-ing off 46(1 workers for a period of eight weeks?These arc, no doubt, naive questions but we are enti-tled to honest factual answers. You arc presenting to usan apocalyptic vision of the consequences of disinvest-ment and divestment. We arc entitled to ask you justwhere your investment is and what your investment isdoing. You must start being honest with us. We have tobe persuaded that your operations really do create jobs,really do spread the profits of capitalism through thewhole society.The evidence is not in your favour. The Reserves pol-icy upon which the sophisticated political structures forapartheid are based were created by you in the past in adeliberate programme designed to ensure a plentifulsupply of cheap labour. The migrant labour policies ofsucceeding governments were merely a development ofyour model created to maximise profits on the mines.During the boom years apartheid was entrenched andrefined and because it was in the interests of profits, youdid not speak out against the manifold injustices and in-creasing poverty and misery.Much more recently your free enterprise/home own-ership model has furthered the government's urban pre-ference policies which are squeezing out the poor andless well paid because the struggle to find accommoda-tion is now a winner take all struggle for privilege andpreference available only to those who can pay the in-flated costs of residence in the confined, limited geog-raphical borders of black townships. All this is contribut-ing to the great fortified wall which has been erected bet-ween the urban insiders and the poverty-stricken outsid-ers.6 THE BLACK SASH-May 1985Were you ignorant or naive when you proclaimed toSenator Kennedy that you have been in the forefront insuccessfully urging the South African government tomake meaningful policy changes especially in the follow-ing areas:opening up housing to black private ownership andthus effectively reversing the use of black urban hous-ing shortages as a form of influx control.Have you heard of the August 26 1983 amendment toSection 1() which made the housing shortage a morestringent influx control tool than it has ever been before?You were told about it but we never head you comp-lain.You owe us answers to these questions and you shouldbe aware that if you fail to answer, not only in the thingsthat you say at Carlton Hotel banquets, but in what youdo in your business enterprises, the future will condemnyou. You will be judged if you cannot provide muchmore concrete evidence that free enterprise really doesmean more freedom, more well-being, more peace withjustice than any other economic system devised by man.My last question is addressed both to you and to theState President.What do you mean by `meaningful political participa-tion by blacks?' Meaningful polticial participation means`one person, one vote' no more and no less. After accept-ing that principle one can start negotiating constitutionalstructures to protect the liberty and security of individu-als.Is this what you mean?If you do not mean that we are all doomed. The de-mand in black communities has gone beyond any tinker-ing around the edges of local government, educationalsystems, housing policies. It is a demand for liberation.Only if government is responsible to the whole peoplewill all the injustices in welfare, pensions, housing, ur-The demand in black communities has gone beyondany tinkering around the edges of local government,educational systems, housing policies. It is a demandfor liberation. Only if government is responsible to thewhole people will all the injustices in welfare, pen-sions, housing, urbanisation, employment policies fallaway.banisation, employment policies fall away.Peace with justice is only ever achieved in the tensionheld between conflicting interests. Are you prepared torisk everything to be a partner in that creative tension?Or will you wait to be destroyed because you have neverbeen able to show that you mean what you say?Meanwhile the rest of us have to get on with doingwhat we have to do.We in the Black Sash have always been concerned withthe victims, the excluded, the poor, the disposssessed.Our task is to find the non-violent ways in which powercan be transferred to the powerless - not in any desirefor the defeat or subjugation of the presently powerful,but in the true longing for a society in which equal dis-tribution of powers will lead to peace and justice pre-served in that creative tension which exists between con-flicting interests of equal strength.Port Elizabeth, March 14 1985

Page 35 of 38 Opening address by Sir Richard Luyt at the national conferenceof the Black Sash in Port Elizabeth on March 14, 1985End conscription callfrom LuytThanks for the privilege, indeed the honour, of beinginvited to deliver this address at the opening of the1985 annual conference of the Black Sash. In recogniz-ing this honour I should emphasise that I have not ac-cepted it on behalf of any organization or institution. Iam here tonight just as Richard Luyt, speaking for my-self only, even if drawing on experience with variousbodies, and even being still closely involved with some ofthem.Congratulations on being 30 years old this year and on30 years of courageous, dedicated effort and achieve-ment, in the ever-continuing struggle for a more just andpeaceful way of life in our country.I wasn't in South Africa when the Sash was born but Iread and heard of it frequently and gratefully as Iwatched and discussed from afar South Africa's agonies,so often self-inflicted. As an increasingly senior colonialadministrator, particularly in the sixties (possessed ofministerial responsibility for internal security and thePolice Force in Northern Rhodesia 1962-64, and then of_overall responsibility when governor of British Guiana,for the peace and progress of that mufti-racial and turbu-lent territory 1964-66).I wasn't always so sure that I welcomed seeing picturesof your silent standings with placards of protest, appealor uncomfortable reminder. Pictures of such vigils wentround the world, and while such stances elsewhere maynot have been caused by Sash initiative, the examplehere in South Africa certainly put a stamp of respectabil-ity on similar activity elsewhere.And don't think that authorities anywhere are unaf-fected by such vigils. As a colonial Governor I wouldpretend I didn't really notice them, or that I was moreamused than offended, but I was never happy to note theinfluence on others or to contemplate the strength offeeling and character that motivated the protesters. I al-ways felt easier and less under pressure when not beingpicketed in this way.The presentation, in Section 3 of the Black Sash con-stitution, of the aims and objects of the organization,starts with the inspiring words `To promote justice . . . 'What finer aim, particularly in South Africa, could therebe - to do what is right, what is fair, what is just? To-night, ever mindful of your primary aim, I am going to,speak mainly on the need, the vital need, for an end, anearly end, to compulsory military service in our country.This subject in its many and far-reaching ramificationsfor those who must serve, and indeed for the rest of soci-ety, impacts so strongly on what is fair and just that I amnot surprised to know that an organization whose basicaim is 'to promote justice' should have been the first na-tional body to call, by resolution of your 1983 nationalconference, for an end to conscription for military ser-vice.And perhaps it is a convenient coincidence that 1985be the International Year of Youth, in which it is spe-cially appropriate to be considering something so tre-mendously important to young lives, even though it is ofcourse also important to all of us.At the outset I should perhaps make clear from whatTHE BLACK SASH - May 1985 7

Page 36 of 38 point of view I will be urging the abandonment in SouthAfrica of conscription. It will help you the better to putmy arguments in perspective and to judge them. Let mestart by emphasizing that I am not a pacifist in the senseof believing that being part of a military machine thattakes life cannot be justified. I have respect for manypacifists but their standpoint is not mine. Not only did Ivoluntarily serve as a fighting soldier for five years ofWorld War 2, but I had earlier while a student at theUniversity of Cape Town, with the Nazi menace on thehorizon, opted for military training, and I received it.Furthermore, I had cause to be grateful during thatwar for the intensive cadet training that I had earlierbeen given at school at Bishops. During the war Iloathed and was terrified by the actual fighting, but therewas also much that was fine in my military experienceand which I recall with gratitude.Later, as governor of a colony I used military force todefend my borders when invaded from without and alsoto assist the civil power within when internal insurrec-tion seemed likely to take over. I was exceedingly grate-ful for the availablity of the battalions.Clearly, then, I am not speaking as a pacifist. Militaryforce has a place in the affairs of men and to me the real-ity is to recognise that fact. I speak therefore as one withsuch recognition and what I am considering tonight is thesa yh ipe that militar force should take and the justifica-tion for its existence.I am not surprised to know that an organization whosebasic aim is `to promote justice' should have been the .first national body to call, by resolution of your 1983National Conference, for an end to conscription formilitary service.But while the existence of the military is necessary it isvital always to bear in mind that it is no more than ashield to safeguard, or permit the development of, allthat is good and important in the strivings of men, in-cluding things of the spirit, of the intellect, things whichpromote human rights including safety of the person andproperty, the pursuit of well-being, access to justice andthe exercise of conscience. The military has a role toplay, a purpose to fulfil for the safety and benefit of allpo 1~e p e in the country that it serves. That is its role. Themilitary is not an end unto itself with ambitions of poweror influence in other spheres, and as a one-time trainedsoldier I hope I have always recognized this. All soldiersshould.There are other principles that underpin my attitudetowards conscription for military service. These are ofgeneral, and not merely South African, application al-though you are free to - and no doubt will - applythem to our local situation as I describe them. But weighthem also for their general validity.Firstly, I accept that a country has a right to possesssecurity forces in quantity and training sufficient to de-fend itself against exte_ nal aggression and to support thepolice in emergency situations in the maintenance of in-ternal order; of course I also see it as the concomitantduty of a country's government to adopt policies whichaim at justice and fairness for all and exter-nI , c~internally -al y and thereby minimise the ances of violent conflict and the need to use its military forces.8 THE BLACK SASH-May 1985Furthermore, those military forces while justifiable,should desirably be volunteer-based and not dependenton conscription.Secondly, it is unacceptable to me for a governmentnot based on the choice or approval of the majority ofthe people, in other words a minority government, tocompel people, even those who do have a vote, to be-come part of the military forces of the country. I am not,in stating this principle, insisting that before conscrip-tion of all or part of the people is acceptable, there mustnecessarily be a government chosen on a `one man onevote' common franchise system. In populations made upof diverse ethnic groups there are a number of ways, fed-eral and other, by which a government can be chosenwith all participating and with majority support.And now a temporary diversion from my list of princi-ples! I contended, without qualification, that even thosewho do have a say in the choice of a minority govern-ment should not be forced into compulsory military ser-vice? What are my arguments in support of this? Be-cause in the circumstances of minority government,(a) it is doubly important that the merit and morality ofwhat a minority government stands for should begood enough to attract volunteers to man its sec-urity forces; if the merit and morality cannot attractvvrt ceolunteer suppo from all the popula thepolicies and, indeed, the minority government it-self do not deserve to survive; and(b) it is inevitable that significant, possibly substantial,numbers of the minority governing group do notapprove of the government's philosophy towardsthe majority and should not be compelled, assometimes happens, to impose this philosophywhere it is not welcome, by force of arms; and(c) it is wrong for a government not based on thechoice or approval of the majority of the people tospend vast sums of money, drawn from all tax-payers, into putting all the young men of a minoritygroup or groups only under military training andunder arms; and(d) it is highly likely to be resented by the majoritygroup or groups and thus to be damaging to race re-lations; and(e) it is reinforcing a racial pattern in the militaryforces which is unhealthy for the future (more ofthis anon).Thirdly, I concede that there can be circumstanceswhere compulsory military service is justified, usually ina homogeneous or near-homogeneous society, and cer-tainly only where all citizens have a hand in choosing orapproving their government, where there is some poten-tial danger and where alternative forms of national ser-vice are reasonably available (and this is very important)to those who cannot accept being part of the militaryIn the circumstances of minority government-it is dou-bly important that the merit and morality of what itstands for should be good enough to attract volun-teers.machine on valid grounds of conscience or religion. Butin my view the reasons for conscription and its methodsof application need to be very sound and widely ac-cepted before it can be justified. Conscription creates

Page 37 of 38 painful moral dilemmas: it is expensive; it is unpopular;it disrupts the economic and social life of individuals andof the community and it doesn't provide the most effi-cient military force; perhaps worst of all it generates amilitaristic attitude and atmosphere in society which isnot conducive to a constructive and peaceful approachto the settlement of problems.Of course, there are certain benefits to be derivedfrom military training, and thus from conscription.Some of the discipline is healthy; there is physical fitnessand bearing, team spirit, camaraderie and loyalty. Butthese can be obtained outside of compulsory militaryservice and without its disadvantages.A fourth and final principle underlying my attitude to-wards conscription is that the military force of a countryshould be drawn from all the communities or ethnicgroups that make up the total population, and that thiscan and should be achieved on the basis of volunteers.Indeed, special care should be taken at all times to en-sure that the security forces of a country are reflective intheir composition of all sections of the total populace;otherwise it is difficult to engender and maintain confi-dence in them in the public mind and heart. In BritishGuiana I had great problems in this regard, in that thesecurity forces, although based on volunteers, were nothealthily balanced racially.The ethnic group that predominated in both Policeand Army was reluctant to allow me as governor tochange things - the situation was traditional and en-trenched - and other groups remained embittered anddistrustful. It was ultimately only with the help of themuch respected International Commission of Jurists asadvisers that change became possible. The lesson is thatif the ethnic composition of the security forces goesaskew - and this almost certainly happens with the con-scription of one group and not of others - the forcesthemselves lack general public support and are not ide-ally manned to perform all their tasks. Nor is it easy inany short or even medium period to correct a distortedposition. This fourth principle is to me so strong an argu-ment as to be virtually decisive on its own. It also pre-cludes a fully satisfactory answer being found in reme-dial patchwork to our present policies and legislation.I concede that compulsory military service is some-times justified but only when all citizens have a hand inchoosing their government.Perhaps I should mention here that I see the idealmilitary force to consist of a substantial element of pro-fessionals, ie career soldiers who of course volunteeredto be such, supported by part-time volunteer nationalservicemen, to make up whatever total numbers are re-quired at any time; and both sections of this ideal milit-Conscription creates painful moral dilemmas: it is ex-pensive, it is unpopular, it disrupts the economic andsocial life of individuals and of the cor imunity and itdoesn't provide the most efficient military force.Perhaps worst of all it generates a militaristic attitudeand atmosphere in society which is not conducive to aconstructive and peaceful approach to the settlementof problems.Sir Richard Luyt chats to Sheena Duncan, right, whileZoe Riordan looks on photo: Glenda Websterary force should reflect the ethnic composition of thetotal populace, or at least be moving purposefully to-wards such reflection.These are my concepts in broad. I must now applythem to South Africa. I have recognized the right of agovernment to have military forces strong and compe-tent enough to defend its country and to assist in main-taining order internally during crises. The respectedpublication of the International Institute for StrategicStudies, The Military Balance, tells us in its 1984/85 issuethat South Africa currently has an army of approxi-mately 67 000 persons, an airforce of 10 000 and a navyof 6 000. Our airforce and navy are already predomin-antly made up of professionals plus a minority of con-scripts, but the army has 50 000 conscripts, or 74 percentof its total strength; and of course these conscripts are allwhites. If the professional element in our army were tobe increased, at the same time redressing the racial im-balance, and the reduced non-professional require-ments were to be converted from white conscripts to vol-unteers of all race groups, we would in nearly all respectsbe on a healthier way forward and, in particular, be re-lieved of the great conscription incubus.A few months ago when the leader of the NRP and Iappeared together on the radio programme `Mic-rophone In' on this same subject, I felt that he concededmost of my arguments against conscription, except thathe feared there would be insufficient suitable volunteersto provide the necessary manpower for my kind of milit-ary force in South Africa. Assuming there are needed atmost 40 000 volunteers (and I would hope it could soonbe much less) from our total population of about 28 mill-ion, there must be something very wrong somewhere ifthis relatively modest number fails to offer themselvesand if those offering are not suitable. Maybe it is theemoluments and conditions of service that need review-ing, but maybe it is public disapproval of the purposesfor which our army is used, eg Namibia, and Africantownships, that would have to be given further consider-ation.It can be argued, and often is, that our adverse educa-tion system, for blacks particularly, and our pressing de-mand in other sectors for schooled manpower, will makeit impossible to find enough suitable volunteers for ourmilitary forces. Against this however, can be argued thatan early ending to the Namibian problem - surelyTHE BLACK SASH - May 1985 9

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